Naruto: Anbu Black Ops Redux
by AssasinNinja
Summary: So I'm rewriting the original story, I've grown a lot since I started Anbu Black Ops, and looking back I'm not very happy with how it turned out. So I'm redoing it, hopefully a lot better. Naruto Uzumaki is labeled a missing-nin, and only a mysterious sword and an emotionless Anbu can lead Sakura and Saskue to him. Will they find their old friend, before it is too late? NARUXSAKU
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I'm re-writing Anbu: Black Ops. It was the first story I actually finished on this site, and to be honest I've grown a lot since then. Four years in high school have taught me not to write in the present tense, and one or two things about the English language. So I'm making this story better, just consider the old one a rough draft or an outline for this one. It rings true to the original, but with several small changes to plot, and many changes to punctuation. Please read and review, and if you're reading this after reading the original, and want me to change a few things about the plot, just let me know! I'm open to suggestions and I'll see what I can do. (Also, when I originally wrote this, Naruto had not found out who his parents were, so I'm keeping them a mystery to him. Also, the Hiraishin doesn't require a special kunai in this story)  
**

**So without further ado, I give you the first chapter of Naruto: Anbu Black Ops Redux.  
**

**Enjoy,  
**

**Chapter One  
**

**Enter Tatsumaki  
**

Darkness, the kind of darkness a lightning bug would get lost in. Darkness that enveloped the night sky. All the stars and the shining moon were invisible behind the coverage of the clouds of a coming storm. It was hours past midnight, and in the village of Konoha, all were asleep.

Save one.

His feet hit the ground one at a time, scraping silently against the side-walk. His hands were clenched tightly around some sort of weapon, the handle barely visible, protruding from underneath thick fabric. He was running hard and fast, the only sound was the flapping of his cloak behind him. He ignored the wave of nostalgia as he passed a familiar bench, not allowing fond memories to slow him down.

But his ignorance had blinded him from the benches sole occupant.

"Naruto?"Umino Iruka spoke up, stopping the running man in his tracks. Iruka stood up, but Naruto didn't turn to face him. He was hiding something from his old sensei, and Iruka could tell.

"Listen, it's very late. I know I'm not in charge of you anymore... but, I'd rather you weren't out so long after dark. Go home, get some rest."

Naruto struggled to hide his weapon beneath the folds of his cloak, but his shaky hands slipped, revealing the scabbard of a short sword to Iruka.

"What's that?" Iruka asked.

Naruto had been found out, he threw a smoke bomb behind him and sprinted away. Iruka covered his face, his sight temporarily lost. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Only a black sword was left behind, its sheath ordained with several small scrolls. In the center of the saya, a name was inscribed. The name was, Namikaze.

"Naruto!"

The moon rose from its cloudy prison, illuminating the ground where the bench stood empty.

**THE NEXT DAY, HOKAGE CHAMBERS.**

Haruno Sakura stared out the window behind her master and leader. It was raining harder than it had in a long time, and the wind was howling furiously. It was an ominous time to call for a meeting, but the Hokage had seemed most urgent when she sent for Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura could tell just by looking at Tsunade, that something had gone horribly wrong. Her stomach turned. Sakura knew full-well who hadn't been called to the meeting, the only possible reason for that being, that whatever Tsunade wanted to discuss, it involved one person. Naruto.

"Sakura... Sasuke. I've called you here to discuss something of great importance and secrecy. I shouldn't have to say, that whatever I tell you now should never be repeated to anyone not in this room. Am I understood?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. Their fears were becoming more and more real every second.

"Good... I'm not quite sure how to say this, so I'll just come out with it. At 2:30 this morning, Uzumaki Naruto became a missing-nin."

"What!?"

"Sakura, I know it is hard to believe... but I have a witness account by Iruka stating that Naruto mysteriously disappeared at that time."

"So he wanted to leave the village, we don't live under martial law," Sasuke argued, "He should be allowed to come and go as he pleases."

Even though Sakura found it strange that Naruto would leave without warning, she had to agree with Sasuke, there was no law saying one could never leave Konoha. But Tsunade shook her head.

"Naruto's surprising disappearance is not the reason he was placed on the missing-nin list..."

"Then what is?" Sasuke asked, impatiently.

"Yesterday, Naruto was witnessed stealing a forbidden weapon from an Anbu guard. The weapon was found by Iruka this morning, at the scene of Naruto's disappearance."

A member of the Anbu black ops seemed to materialize from the shadows.

"Hokage-sama." The Anbu knelt beside the Hokage's desk. He wore the traditional clothes of the Anbu, apart from his short black sword having an unusual scabbard. Sasuke spotted the familiar name 'Namikaze', engraved on it. His animal mask was matte black, and in the visage of a snarling fox. When he spoke from behind it, the effect was disquieting.

"This is the Anbu guard that Naruto stole the sword from. His name is Tatsumaki."

"Greetings." His voice rang with a monotone humor. Emotionless yes, but somehow strangely melodic. He excused himself to the back of the room, pulling three chairs up from their spot against the wall. He placed two of them next to Sakura and Sasuke, and then the third beside the Hokage's desk.

"You may be seated." Tsunade said, her voice eloquent and empty. She was clearly just as troubled as Sakura and Sasuke.

For several seconds, they sat in silence, then Sasuke cleared his throat. He looked from Tatsumaki to Tsunade, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Tsunade, why jump to the conclusion that Naruto stole this weapon for personal gain?"

Tsunade stood up and walked to the window. She stared out over Konoha, observing the terrible storm. The rain had never let up, and it almost completely obscured the village from view. The Hokage finally spoke, pain heavy in her voice.

"Tatsumaki can explain better than I can." Her tone was slightly accusatory, but Tatsumaki paid no heed. Standing up from his chair, he started reciting his story.

"Uzumaki Naruto... age: 18. Height: 6'0. Hair: Blonde. Eyes:Blue. Current holder of the toad-contract. Current container of the Kyubi-"

"Just get to the point!" Sakura demanded through clenched teeth. Tatsumaki bowed in her direction.

"My apologies Haruno-san. I located Uzumaki Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen. Uzumaki Naruto was eating at said ramen stand. I was not surprised by this, while making my daily rounds I have often seen Naruto eating there with... Haruno Sakura, Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Rock Lee, Nara-"

"Please dispense with any unnesecary details Tatsumaki." Tsunade said, glaring.

"Yes of course, Hokage-sama. I was then caught off guard when Uzumaki Naruto spotted me on the roof of a nearby building and climbed up to face me. I asked him how I could assist him, and he responded by grabbing me from behind with two shadow clones (I had not seen him summon them, so he must've done it before I spotted him at Ichiraku) and ripping the sword from my back. He then ran away, and though I searched the entire village thoroughly for him, I was forced to return to Hokage-sama at nightfall to report. Uzumaki Naruto was not seen again until Umino Iruka spotted him trying to leave the village."

The occupants of the room sat in silence for a while, before Sakura spoke.

"Tsunade-shisho... I know that stealing is a crime, but whatever this forbidden sword can do, I doubt it's dangerous enough to have Naruto branded as a traitor!"

"Once more Sakura, Tatsumaki can explain."

Tatsumaki bowed once more before continuing.

"This sword is not only a symbol of the Namikaze clan, but the sheath is covered in scrolls containing many forbidden jutsu."

Sasuke grunted.

"The Namikaze clan has no heir, the fourth died without producing a son. What gives you the right to carry that sword?" He asked.

Tatsumaki looked toward Tsunade for support.

"He is the Anbu I have chosen to guard the sword. The sword was discovered in a section of the abandoned Namikaze compound a few months ago. We decided it would be best to keep it under constant watch, and have it constantly moving, that way it would be harder to locate and steal."

"We?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head accusingly.

"Tatsumaki and I decided."

"Who the fuck is this guy!?" Sasuke scoffed in anger.

"Sasuke..." Sakura grabbed his arm, hoping to calm him down. As she did this, she noticed Tatsumaki's shoulders slump, and his head dropped a little.

"No Sakura! How do we know this guy isn't the traitor? After all, he's the only one who claimed Naruto actually stole the sword! If I remember correctly, the last time Naruto stole a forbidden scroll, he was put up to it by some other jerk we thought we could trust!"

Tsunade sank lower into her chair.

"You always claim he's like a son to you, his hearts in the right place, he's a great shinobi, yet you betray him in favor of some...some..."

"Uchiha Sasuke, you should not speak to the Hokage-sama in such a manner." He stood up and moved over to the ex-traitor.

Sasuke pushed at the Anbu's chest.

"I've had more than enough of you. If you speak to me again, I swear I will-"

"Shut the hell up!" Tsunade yelled, slamming her hand down on her desk and breaking it in two, "Sasuke you need to show Tatsumaki some respect. After all, he is willing to help you two search for Naruto!"

"What?!" Sakura and Sasuke shared a confused expression.

"I also believe Uzumaki Naruto had a good reason for trying to steal the sword. Odds are he ran away because he realized what he had done and knew how bad things looked." Tatsumaki returned to his seat.

"Now I'm not going to report Naruto's status for as long as his disappearance goes unnoticed... In the mean time, you three will be trying to find him."

Sakura's mood visibly brightened, but Sasuke still held his suspicions.

"And just how will his disappearance go unnoticed?" The Uchiha asked.

"Because 'he' will be going on the mission with you." Tsunade cleared her throat , "Tatsumaki will leave the village with you henged as Naruto, I will list Naruto's name on the mission's papers. No one will question anything until you return, when you do find Naruto, Tatsumaki will simply sneak back into the village while you three return through the main gate. It will be as if he never went missing in the first place."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded in reluctant understanding. Tatsumaki henged, and the knuckle-headed ninja stood before them once more.

"Will this do?" He asked in his calculating tone. Sakura laughed at the mismatch of his body and his voice.

"Not with that ridiculous voice!" She teased.

Tatsumaki grunted in response. He formed a few more hand-signs, cleared his throat, and then spoke again.

"Is this sufficient?" His voice now sounded like gravel mixing with water. It was an almost perfect copy of Naruto's.

"You still talk strange... but at least you sound like him now." Sakura said, smiling at the Anbu. She was still slightly resentful for his role in this mess, but if he wanted to help Naruto, he at least deserved her respect. Sasuke seemed to think differently.

"Pretending to be Naruto won't replace him." He said bitterly.

"Yes, you aren't nearly obnoxious enough." Tsunade said chuckling to herself.

Tatsumaki stood there silently for a moment, he seemed to be gathering his thoughts.

"You still there Tatsumaki?" Tsunade asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

A sheepish smile formed on the fake Naruto's face. Everyone in the room was taken back by the likeness. Tatsumaki had mastered Naruto's signature grin.

"I am observant," he closed his eyes and scratched his head like the Uzumaki, "His expressions are easy to match after seeing them performed day after day."

His face quickly reverted to an expressionless one, it reflected Tatsumaki's attitude perfectly.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Get home and pack for a week's worth, then meet up at the gates. The sooner you find Naruto, the sooner we can put all this behind us."

"Let's get this over with." Sasuke marched angrily through the door.

"Good to know we're getting off on the right foot." Tatsumaki said as he followed Sakura out of the Hokage's chambers.

"Was that a joke Tatsumaki?" Tsunade called after them.

* * *

Sakura leaned up against the gates of Konoha, watching as Sasuke filled out the paperwork with the guards. The storm had finally ended, and the ground was still soaked from the rain. Her eyes wandered lazily from puddle to puddle, seeking something that would catch her interest. After spotting two birds fighting over a worm, her attention drifted to her third companion, who appeared to be staring at her. She kicked a pebble that was near her feet and looked back at Sasuke. He was still filling out the forms, he would've finished by now if he wasn't so interested in the female guard in charge.

_'Oh now he likes girls? Where was this flirting when we were 13? Jerk.'_

Her eyes fell away from the disgrace of her teammate and once again rested on Tatsumaki, who was definitely staring at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked.

"What?!" Sakura asked, taken off guard.

"You keep looking at me..."

"That's because you're staring at me!"

"Guys?" Sasuke stood before them, pointing at the gate, "We can go now."

Sakura quickly walked away from Tatsumaki. Her arms crossed in annoyance. Sasuke glared at the Anbu, waiting for him to follow. To everyone's surprise, Tatsumaki turned in the direction of the village and yelled in his best Naruto impression,

"GOODBYE KONOHA! YOUR NEXT HOKAGE WILL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!"

Sakura and Sasuke stood bewildered. The Anbu in disguise walked out the gate and the duo followed him, once they were out of the guard's earshot Sakura spoke berated him.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" She screamed at the pseudo-Naruto. The smile washed off of Tatsumaki's face.

"I'm just being 'myself' Haruno-san." He answered coldly.

Sasuke groaned at Tatsumaki's emphasis of 'myself'. Sakura herself just walked away, taking the lead and following the path. As soon as she had left him, Tatsumaki's fake smile returned, and when he flashed Sasuke a thumbs up as he walked past, the Uchiha just cringed. With his head down, Sasuke followed the Anbu, and the trio began the long journey to find their missing ally.

The three had been walking for hours, searching for any clues that would get them on Naruto's trail, when the sun finally began to set. When the three reached a large clearing beside the road, Sasuke spoke.

"We should set up camp." Sasuke took his pack off and unpacked his tent.

"I shall search for firewood" the now himself Tatsumaki left the boundaries of the camp to find dry wood.

After setting up camp Sasuke and Sakura sat down against a large tree. The events of the day had left them both dejected and miserable. The crushing news of Naruto's disappearance had only been worsened by a day spent looking for him without any luck.

_'Where did you go_ _Naruto?' _Sasuke thought to himself, looking over at Sakura, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"What are you doing?"

Tatsumaki stood before them, a large collection of sticks in his arms. Sasuke stared at him.

"We're just sitting."

Tatsumaki shrugged and organized the dry sticks into a bundle. Then he used a katon jutsu to ignite them. The sun had been gone for some time now, and the warmth of the fire was nice in the cold of the night. Sakura and Sasuke moved closer to the heat. After about an hour of silence, Tatsumaki spoke.

"Do you wish to communicate?"

"No." Sasuke stated, coldly and firmly. Sakura nudged his arm.

"What Sasuke meant to say is that we've had a long day and would rather not talk." She said kindly enough.

Tatsumaki shrugged. Several more minutes of silence passed.

"If you want, I can entertain you." Tatsumaki offered.

"You? Entertain?" Sasuke laughed a bitter sarcastic laugh.

"I know some stories." Tatsumaki said, emotionless.

Sakura grew suddenly interested, and nodded her head in approval.

"I love stories!" She smiled happily.

Tatsumaki nodded slowly, then repositioned himself closer to the fire. He stuck his hands out to warm them.

"Very well, of what do you wish to hear?"

"How about that creepy-ass mask?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nudged him again.

"I'm afraid there isn't much of a story behind it."

Sakura urged him on with a smile.

"No, please," She implored, "We'd like to know more about it."

Tatsumaki nodded and reached for his mask. Sakura and Sasuke stared at him in anticipation, only to be greatly disappointed by what he was wearing behind his mask. A wave of deja vu swept them as he adjusted the cloth wrap that covered his entire face.

He handed the mask carefully to Sakura, and she took it from him. Up close, she could better admire the skill it had taken to craft the mask. While other Anbu masks were very simple renditions of common animals, this almost demonic fox face clearly took time and patience.

"My father hand-made it when he was accepted into the Anbu. He was so proud of himself, he never once used the white mask they gave him. He earned a name for himself, the way he fought, and with that mask he was recognizable throughout the ranks of the Anbu. They started calling him 'The Konoha Tatsumaki'... that's why I go by that name now." Tatsumaki was being completely honest. Even though he had never personally known his father, hearing about his exploits always filled him with pride.

"Is your father...?" Sakura asked, not knowing how to finish her question. Tatsumaki nodded.

"He gave his life protecting Konoha from the Kyubi."

Sakura and Sasuke abruptly looked up away from the mask. Tatsumaki's hollow eyes stared back at them. Sakura broke the heated silence. They hadn't noticed that they were blue before now.

"Do you..." Sakura began, "I mean... you don't hate Naruto for it, do you?"

"I'm sorry... why would I hate Naruto for something the nine-tailed fox did? I was under the impression Uzumaki Naruto saved the village and is a hero."

Sakura felt her eyes start to water as she hugged Tatsumaki. She held back tears, but she was genuinely touched. It was very seldom that someone thought of Naruto as a hero for what happened that night, more often then not they despised him for it.

"You don't know what that means to me... what that would mean to him." She told him, wiping the tears from her eyes. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"I see, you are in love with Uzumaki Naruto." Tatsumaki teased.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, and the boy's left eyebrow was cocked. It wasn't the first time someone had told her that she was in love with Naruto.

"No, no... it isn't like that. We're just great friends." Turning toward Sasuke, she hugged him, "Naruto, Sasuke and I... well we're like a family."

Tatsumaki grabbed his mask back from Sakura, and placed it back on his face. Whipping around quickly, he walked away, leaving Sasuke trapped in Sakura's death grip.

"Where are you going now?" The Uchiha asked suspiciously.

"I'm keeping watch... now get some sleep."

If Sakura didn't know any better, she would think that Tatsumaki almost sounded hurt.

"He's right, let's get some sleep." Sasuke wiggled out of Sakura's vice-like grip and crawled into his tent. After a moment of staring in Tatsumaki's direction, Sakura did the same.

* * *

Sasuke woke to find Tatsumaki standing outside his tent.

"What do you want?"

Tatsumaki pointed to Sakura's tent.

"Wake Haruno-san."

Sasuke peeked into Sakura's tent and called her name, she shifted out of bed and left her tent.

"What's up Tatsu?"

Tatsumaki opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by the nickname.

"Tatsu?"

"Mhmm." Sakura nodded sheepishly.

"Is there a reason you woke us?" Sasuke barked.

Tatsumaki seemed to pull himself out of a daze before speaking.

"Well the sun has risen... I figured we would want to continue the search." Tatsumaki seemed to be hiding something, but Sasuke chose to ignore it.

"Well let's pack up and go." The Uchiha said, moving toward his tent. Sakura nodded and did the same. In a few minutes, the trio departed. By nightfall, they were on the edges of the Wind country. Degraded at another day of meaningless searching, the three turned in for the night.

Being so close to the desert, it got really cold that night. So cold that it awoke Sakura. Her sleeping bag wasn't enough to keep her warm, and she couldn't fall asleep being so cold, so she pulled the incompetent sleeping bag around her and left her tent. The fire was still blazing, so she sat down right next to it. The warmth was an incredible relief.

"Oh that feels good." She said aloud, not knowing that Tatsumaki was standing only a few feet away.

"Haruno-san?"

She jumped. Then realizing who it was, calmed herself down.

"You know, you can call me Sakura, Tatsumaki."

"Oh... I'm sorry Sakura-san." He said, sitting down beside her.

"You don't need to apologize...I over reacted." Sakura said, smiling at him.

"Not that." he said, looking toward the ground, "I'm sorry for Uzumaki Naruto."

"Oh... I feel sorry for him too, to have so many people judge you for what's inside you..." Sakura said, her eyes glazing over.

"No not that...I feel sorry for him because of what is inside of him."

Sakura frowned. She'd never really thought of that before. Sure she pitied Naruto for the way the way people treated him, but she never really thought that the worse part of his life could be the demon living inside of him.

"How does he know if his power is his own? Maybe he deserves all the praise he receives, but it must feel terrible not knowing if you actually accomplished something, or if it was just the monster inside you doing all the work."

Sakura had never thought about that before either. Several moments of silence passed before she spoke.

"Even if Naruto's strength isn't what he's using... even if all his power comes from the Kyubi, the Kyubi isn't the one taking all the punishment and getting right back up. The Kyubi isn't the one helping all those people, and the Kyubi certainly isn't the one who would do anything to protect his friends. I certainly don't love the Kyubi... but Naruto has earned my love time and time again."

Tatsumaki's body seemed to buckle. It was almost as if he was crying, but when he spoke, his voice betrayed no weakness.

"He's lucky to have a friend like you."

"You know... I could be your friend too Tatsu. If you'd like."

"... I would like that very much, Sakura-san."

Sasuke watched on from his tent, clenching his fists.

* * *

The Kyubi stood before Naruto, his body glowing with anger.

**"You can't keep hiding."** the fox stated grimly, **"I know how hard they hunt for you."**

"Why should I trust you Kurama?" Naruto asked, "I know how badly you want to be free, if they find me, you'd just get what you want!"

**"You have no idea what I want!"**

"If you don't want to be free, why do you so often take control of my body! Even after I freed you from that godforsaken cage!"

Kurama said nothing.

"You make me hurt the people I care about, and all I've ever done is give you a chance to redeem yourself!"

**"FOOL!"** A wave of chakra knocked Naruto to the ground and the Kyubi shut his eyes, **"It was you..."**

"What?" Naruto stood up, "What the hell are you talking about?"

**"You can blame me all you want for giving you the power to hurt those you love... but every time the rage consumes you, IT IS YOUR ANGER THAT FUELS YOU!"**

Naruto stood in shock..._"It was me?"_...how could he have been in control, the few memories he had of his power led him to believe his body was being controlled by the Kyubi. It made no sense, if his own anger was controlling him then...

"I hurt Sakura."

Kurama nodded sadly. Naruto looked back and forth in shock.

Then, he roared in primal rage. Collapsing on the ground in his mind-scape, his tears quickly created a flood. He allowed the water to fill the room, hoping to drown himself in his own thoughts.

**"Don't do this boy. Wake up."**

Naruto ran out of oxygen just as the water reached the Kyubi's chest. His eyes shot open.

"Naruto!" Sakura's stood up in a flash, her body drenched in sweat. Panting, she scanned the camp for Naruto. Then she remembered that he was missing, and that three days of searching hadn't brought them any closer to finding him.

"You alright?" Sasuke had been sitting on a stump, clenching his sword tightly. He didn't look like he had gotten any sleep. When Sakura nodded at him weakly, he motioned toward Tatsumaki, who was apparently meditating next to the smoldering fire.

"Tatsu?" Sakura hesitantly shook the Anbu. He leaped up with a start, drawing his sword and swinging at the air in front of him. Sakura stepped back just in time.  
Realizing where he was, he sheathed the Namikaze Ninjato.

"Sorry."

"Bad dream?"

"The worst."

"Sakura, I need to ask you something."

"What Sasuke?"

Sasuke drew his sword and turned his back to them.

"If you had to choose...would you kill him to save Naruto?"

"WHAT!"

Sasuke paced around the small camp.

"If Naruto would die unless you killed Tatsumaki...would you?"

"...how...How can you even ask that!"

Sakura looked from Sasuke to Tatsumaki.

"ANSWER ME!"

Sakura shook her head violenty.

"I can't!"

Sasuke whipped his sword around. It sat on the side of Tatsumaki's neck.

"ANSWER ME!...or he dies."

Sakura blinked rapidly...She stared furiously at Sasuke.

"You've gone mad!"

He pulled his arm back, ready to swing.

"YES!" She screamed.

A smirk crossed Sasuke's face. Ice cold anger passed through him as he swung his sword. Blood spewed from Tatsumaki's masked throat, and he crumpled to the ground.

"NO!" Sakura ran towards Tatsumaki's fallen body, but Sasuke grabbed her before she could get to him. He held her as she fought against him, before finally speaking.

"Wait." Sasuke's voice barely rose above a harsh whisper. Sakura was ready to turn and kick him away but Tatsumaki rose from the ground, the fabric still ripped but the wound healed.

"How!?" She asked, bewildered.

"A forbidden technique of the Namikaze clan." Sasuke uttered, "I studied the scrolls while you were sleeping. You're the on using forbidden jutsu for personal gain. You're the traitor!" Sasuke held up his sword, pointing it right at Tatsumaki.

Tatsumaki stared at Sasuke, not knowing what to say. A few moments of tense silence passed.

"Do you have a problem with me Uchiha-san?"

"I bet you set him up...sure Naruto stole a forbidden scroll before but he was tricked into doing it. He's all about finding power by your own means, he hates when people use forbidden techniques to make themselves stronger, there is no way he would have done it!"

"Guys stop fighting! Naruto wouldn't want-"

"Sakura, think about it... Naruto's dead...this guy killed him."

Tatsumaki spoke up. Anger in his voice.

"That's a lie."

Tatsumaki looked to Sakura, her face was twisted in confusion.

"Just think about it Sakura... he stole the techniques and let Naruto take the blame."

Tatsumaki felt fear. A deep fear, he knew the power of these two well, he knew what they could do.

"Wait. Sasuke. Sakura. Don't do this. I have an explanation for every-"

A wave of realization and anger fell over Sakura's face.

"You're right Sasuke..." She said grimly, cracking her knuckles.

_'Shit.'_

Tatsumaki took off sprinting, not wishing to take two of the most powerful ninja in the hidden leaf village head on. The remaining members of team seven followed at breakneck speed.

In his head, Tatsumaki was listing off more curse words than he actually knew. Sakura and Sasuke continued the chase for several minutes, traveling miles from their campsite. Tatsumaki stopped suddenly, a large rock face stood before him and Sakura and Sasuke were directly behind him. He turned quickly.

Using a forbidden technique, he summoned several shadow clones. They nodded at him, and ran to face the two ninja. Sakura slammed her fist to the ground, creating a shock-wave that sent the clones flying. Sasuke jumped after them, slicing them into smoke.

Tatsumaki was running out of time. Killing them wasn't even close to an option, they were his best friends.

"Wait!" He threw his hands up in protest, halting the ninja momentarily, "I swear I didn't kill Naruto!"

"Prove it!" Sakura screamed at him. Her resolve only slightly suppressed. However, when Tatsumaki seemed to struggle to answer the question, her patience quickly thinned.

"I didn't want to do this..." He reached for his mask. Unfortunately for Tatsumaki, Sasuke had read of a secret technique amongst the forbidden scrolls that involved the removal of ones face to hypnotize the intended victim.

"SAKURA LOOK OUT!" Sasuke raced forward slicing Tatsumaki across the stomach.

"Gah!"

Sasuke swung the blade again slicing the Anbu across his chest. Tatsumaki fell to his knees.

"Why'd you kill him!?"

Tatsumaki looked up at Sasuke.

"I didn't kill Naruto-"

"LIAR!"

The Uchiha kicked Tatsumaki square in the face. His nose broke behind his mask. Sasuke's brutality horrified Sakura.

"Sasuke stop! This is too much!"

"SHUT UP SAKURA! HE KILLED NARUTO!"

Tatsumaki's face shot up.

"Don't talk to Sakura-chan that way."

Sasuke looked on in shock, in all the distraction he hadn't noticed the shadow clone crouching behind Tatsumaki moving his hands.

"RASENGAN!" Tatsumaki slammed the ball of wind down into the ground, creating an explosion of dust and rock that sent the three ninja flying.

Sasuke fell to the ground, several large rocks fell around him, almost crushing him. He dodged another rock, then rolled onto his stomach.

_"DAMN!"_

Sasuke stood up searching frantically for the Anbu. A severely wounded Tatsumaki landed in front of him, holding an unconscious Sakura in his arms.

"Put her down!" Sasuke screamed through the clearing dust and debris.

Tatsumaki shook his head in anger, the pain from his injuries delaying his voice.

"She's hurt...we need t-GAH!"

Tatsumaki fell to his knees, the pain was tremendous. He hadn't had time to recast the Namikaze protection jutsu after Sasuke had sliced his throat, and his wounds were deep.

"WE NEED TO GET HER TO KONOHA!" Tatsumaki said through the pain.

Sasuke understood, he was willing to agree to a temporary truce for as long as Sakura was in danger. Whether or not this man killed Naruto, the life of his other best friend was hanging in the balance.

"Give her here, I'll take her."

Tatsumaki stood up.

"No...you're not fast enough." Tatsumaki barked at Sasuke. "I'll do it."

"Are you crazy? You'll die before you get halfway there!" Sasuke walked towards Tatsumaki, "Give her to me!"

Tatsumaki stepped away from the Uchiha, his body began to glow a harsh red.

"NO!" Tatsumaki growled his voice altered and gritty.

Before Sasuke could blink Tatsumaki took off at breakneck speeds away from the Uchiha.

_"WHAT?" _Sasuke quite literally ate the Anbu's dust.

Sasuke stood dazed, he couldn't believe that Tatsumaki had recovered so quickly, let alone manage to take off at such impossible speeds. Sasuke followed as fast as he could, hoping to reach Konohagakure before nightfall.

* * *

**"You wont make it."**

_"SHUT UP!"_

Tatsumaki knew it was the truth, he'd never make it..._"unless..."_, Tatsumaki thought back to the forbidden scrolls of the Namikaze's. Only one would give him the speed needed to reach Konoha..._"but it's a kekai genkai!"_...That didn't matter. He had to try.

"Hang on Sakura-chan!"

Tatsumaki gathered all his remaining chakra at his feet and shut his eyes.

_'Hiraishin!' _A blinding light flashed and Tatsumaki was gone._  
_

* * *

The fifth Hokage sat at her desk, filling out an infinite amount of paperwork, drowning a bottle of sake with every signature.

_FWIPP!_

A small explosion ripped the air in front of Tsunade's desk.

"What the hell?!" Tsunade stood up quickly, knocking her chair out from under her. The light was blinding, so she shielded her eyes with her arm. When the flash disappeared Tatsumaki stood before her, a wounded Sakura in his arms. He fell to his knees, but lifted Sakura up, holding her out from his body at arm's length.

"Help her." He begged. Tsunade ran to Tatsumaki and grabbed Sakura, sprinting her downstairs to the hospital-wing. Tatsumaki pulled himself up from the ground, and using the wall as support, followed the Hokage.

Downstairs, after several minutes of continued chakra flow, Tsunade had managed to stabilize Sakura. Turning around, she saw that Tatsumaki had made it all the way downstairs, dripping blood the whole way.

"She needs rest, but she'll be fine...It's a good thing you got her here so soon...something fell on her caving in her ribs, slowly crushing her lungs. I managed to pry the ribs outwards again, but she'll be asleep for some time." Tsunade patted the bed next to Sakura's and Tatsumaki sat on it. The Anbu unbuckled and removed his armor, and placed it and his sword on the mattress beside him. He lifted his shirt off his torso and Tsunade checked his wounds.

After a few moments of silence she spoke.

"Who did this to you?" She began healing the lacerations with chakra.

"...Sasuke." He answered.

"Well I've healed the sword wounds, but your chakra pathways and bones have massive bruising." Tsunade frowned, "Now do you mind telling me what happened?"

Tsunade handed him back his shirt, and he put it on. He buckled his armor back on, but kept the sword out of its saya. He stood up off the mattress and twirled it around before sitting down in a chair and sharpening it.

"I did it again."

Tsunade said nothing.

"I hurt her again!"

"It wasn't your fault." Tsunade knelt in front of Tatsumaki, embracing him. His body was shaking. He reached for his mask, wanting desperately to take the damned thing off, but there was no door to separate the room from the crowded hallway, where nurses were making their rounds. From behind them, Sakura's breathing grew erratic. Tsunade rushed over to re-stabilize her.

_'Damn... her lungs are so weak...'_ The Hokage thought to herself.

"I unleashed the rasengan into the ground, a falling rock crushed her...I...I hate myself!" Tatsumaki stabbed the ninjato into the hospital tile below him, cursing.

"How did you get her here, what jutsu?" Tsunade asked, trying to draw the Anbu's attention away from his mistake.

Tatsumaki shook his head. In her heart, Tsunade knew what he had done.

"It was the Hiraishin... the kekai genkai of the Namikaze clan. Do you know what that means?" Sakura's breathing returned to normal.

Tatsumaki shook his head.

"You are the last remaining Namikaze!"

Tatsumaki's head shot up.

"How?"

"Minato must have produced in heir before he sealed the nine tailed fox inside y-" Tsunade whispered as a nurse walked by,"Inside Naruto."

Tatsumaki stared ahead.

"I have to leave the village, perfect it." Tatsumaki returned the short sword to it's sheath, "Learn to control myself, my rage. So I never hurt her again..."

The Anbu stood up and walked over to Sakura, who was now breathing easy. He brushed stray hairs out of her face, revealing the full glory of her ivory colored forehead. He dropped his head low, wanting to kiss it. But with the mask on, he could do no such thing.

"I love you." He whispered. She stirred, but remained asleep.

Tsunade frowned.

"What will I tell the village...about Naruto?"

Tatsumaki left Sakura's side.

"He needs this more than me...tell them he was the last of the Namikazes...and that I killed him."

Tsunade stared at him in shock.

"It's the only way I can see out of this. To protect my loved ones... I can no longer exist. I know all my friends will hate me, and want to kill me... but Tatsumaki will never return. From his ashes, a Namikaze will rise." Tatsumaki clenched his fist in front of his face.

Nodding grimly, Tsunade spoke.

"Believing the Kyubi dead, these enemies will surely stop following you. The village will no longer be in danger, and neither will you."

Tatsumaki walked quickly toward the window. When he opened it, a strong gust of wind blew into the room, a last reminder of the storm that had occurred almost four days ago. The Anbu turned to his Hokage one last time.

"Tell the village immediately the truth about Uzumaki Naruto... Goodbye, Baa-chan."

Tsunade smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. Then, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Read, Review, Enjoy.  
**

**Chapter Two**

**The Return of the Namikazes  
**

An exhausted Tatsumaki leaned against a large tree, he'd been running for hours. Sweat drenched his entire body, and dried blood coated his Anbu uniform. Looking down at his clothes, he realized in how bad of shape they were in. The armor was torn in several places, and the white was permanently discolored by his plasma. Surmising that he was far enough away from Konoha to stop wearing his disguise, Tatsumaki pulled off his mask and facial wrappings, and Uzumaki Naruto took his first real breath of fresh air in five days.

_'I need some new clothes.'_ He admitted reluctantly.

So he trudged into the nearest village. It was a decent town, several small shops filled the crowded marketplace, where people were too distracted with shopping to stare at his odd appearance. In the window of one building, a sign hung that said 'SHINOBI CLOTHING AVAILABLE', taking that as good news, Naruto ducked inside the store, only to find that it was a costume shop. Sighing, he was just about to leave when a display caught his eye.

Their, standing behind the cashier, was a mannequin dressed in the robes of the Hokage. Sure, the colors were a bit off, the flak vest was blue for heaven's sake, but it still held the indisputable look of the Hokage. Naruto had to have it. He reached his arm forward, but it was slapped away by a little old lady.

"Sorry sir. No touching unless buying."

The Anbu rubbed his hand apathetically.

"How much?" He asked.

"Oh, the Kage costume? Very well made, very expensive." The old lady looked back up at the display. Naruto threw everything he had down on the table. A sinister smile formed on the old woman's lips.

* * *

Sakura awoke in a sweaty hospital bed. She sat up slowly and looked around the room, but neither Sasuke or Tatsumaki were present. Then the memory of yesterday's events came rushing back to her. Then, from outside, she heard her master's voice.

**"People of Konohagakure!"**

Tsunade must have been using a jutsu to amplify her voice. Walking through the hospital hallways, Sakura quickly reached the stairs that led to the roof.

**"KONOHA, YOUR HOKAGE ADDRESSES YOU!"** Tsunade stood from the top of the Hokage tower, from the looks of things, The Hokage had called a town meeting, and from what she could tell the whole village was in attendance. **"I HAVE ILL NEWS!"**

Sakura started to walk toward the edge of the roof, hoping to leap away from the meeting, knowing she didn't want to hear whatever news the Hokage bore. But before she could get far, a warm hand grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Now, Tsunade told me to keep you from leaving your bed. I wouldn't want to have to tell her I failed."

Sakura turned around to face the man who was halting her movement.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Shhh. The Hokage is about to speak."

**"It would seem that history repeating itself is a sad tradition in this village... for once more we have been betrayed by someone we thought we could trust, and lost a valuable comrade."**

Sakura's panic reached a whole new level. Sasuke and Tatsumaki were both still missing, had one of them killed the other? And if so, whose side did Tsunade take? She barely knew Sasuke, where Tatsumaki seemed to be a trusted ally to her. Sakura looked to her sensei in fear, but if he shared her worry, he did not show it.

**"Tatsumaki, a former member of the Anbu Black Ops, has betrayed our village, and has struck down one of our own."** Tsunade said, her voice was clearly shaky with emotion. She almost seemed to have to choke out the words, as if every sentence she spoke brought her more pain.

Sakura felt the tears fill her eyes, if Tatsumaki was the traitor, then that meant that Sasuke was dead. Her hands moved quickly to her mouth, stifling a sob.

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

Kakashi and Sakura looked behind them, finding a battle-scarred Sasuke using his sword as a crutch. He was covered and sweat, and from the dirt and grass stains on his clothes, he looked as if he had ran all night. Sakura nodded, shocked that the Uchiha was still breathing at all, then Tsunade spoke again,

**"KONOHAGAKURE! I regret to inform you, that the the Fourth Hokage's only son has been murdered." **The tears were flowing down the Hokage's face quite freely now, and she did nothing to wipe them off.

The crowed roared in protest. They all were raised under the same assumption that the fourth never bore a son.

"Impossible!" A man yelled.

"The Namikaze line ended the night of the Kyubi's attack!"

When this was said, the smarter of the villagers began to understand. How convenient of the fourth to have a new-born on hand right when the fox attacked. And how peculiar that Naruto shared the same hair color and eye color as Minato.

"What was his girlfriend's name again?" An old man asked, "Kushina what?"

**"THE FOURTH HOKAGE DID INDEED HAVE A SON!" **Tsunade finally regained enough control to speak, **"HIS NAME WAS UZUMAKI**** NARUTO**!"

For a while, the crowd and the Hokage just stood in silence. Then, several members of the village began to sob. Others walked away from the meeting, not knowing how to react. A few drunks shouted out, 'Good riddance!' but those next to them quickly silenced their stupidity. All in all, the whole village stood in a state of shock. Most blamed themselves for not seeing it sooner, many simply mourned the loss of their hero. Tsunade herself couldn't look at them, so she walked back into her office without saying another word.

Sakura stood still for what seemed like hours, when she finally gained her composure she turned to see Kakashi staring at the ground, deep in thought.

"It..it is my fault...I should've have trained him better...if I only I-"

In the heat of all the sadness and mourning, Sasuke did something that was extremely rare. He embraced his sensei, and let the older man use him for support. Kakashi mumbled incoherently, once again a loved one had been taken from him and guilt filled his soul.

"It's okay..." Sasuke said, lying to Kakashi. Looking in Sakura's direction, he realized that she was nowhere to be found.

Haruno Sakura lay on the stone head of the Fourth Hokage, a place where Naruto had taken her to watch the sunset many times before. She wasn't sobbing, but her tears ran down the sun-warmed stone like a tiny river. She felt the overwhelming urge to break down, but something inside her was telling her to be strong, urging her to keep her composure. It was as if someone was holding her in their arms, trying desperately to comfort her.

* * *

Naruto's fake Hokage hat had broken almost immediatley after leaving the costume shop. He didn't care all that much though, instead of the Kanji for fire, the hat was decorated by the peace symbol, and it had felt flimsy like paper mache. So he threw away the broken thing, and left the village. The woman was right to charge him so much though, the rest of the costume was very well made. He was almost certain that the shirt and pants were actually taken from a real jonin uniform, and the vest itself appeared exactly like the ones used in Konoha, apart from the fact that it was tar heel blue. As for the Kage cloak, it was light enough to be whipped around by the wind, and thick enough to keep him warm.

Decently happy with his purchase, he made his way back to the road. He had walked for about ten minutes, when his heart felt an incredible tang of pain. He collapsed to his knees, drawing the attention of a passing trader.

"I'm fine." Naruto said through the pain, not wanting the trader to waste time on trying to help him. The merchant nodded and kept walking, but looked back several times in worry, "What's wrong with me?!"

Suddenly, the sound of a woman crying filled his ears, and his world turned to black. The pain stopped, but he was trapped in a world of endless darkness. The crying grew louder, and he realized who it was.

"Sakura?" Suddenly the black washed away, and he was at the Hokage Monument, a crying Sakura laid on the ground before him. He called her name again, but she didn't stop crying. He walked toward her, not knowing what was going on, but knowing that he had to comfort Sakura. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but they passed right through her like he was a ghost.

He sat down beside her, not knowing what to do.

"Please don't cry Sakura-chan... I'm so sorry."

The girl looked up at him, startled.

* * *

Sakura had finally burst into weeping after an hour of holding it in. She just couldn't control her sadness anymore, no matter how hard she tried. Her best friend was gone forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.

**"Please don't cry Sakura-chan... I'm so sorry."**

Looking up quickly, her eyes widened in shock. She could've sworn she had just heard Naruto's voice, almost as if it had been carried by the wind. Looking around, she saw nothing, and decided that her mind was just playing cruel tricks on her.

**"I'm so sorry... I hate myself for hurting you."**

There it was again, Sakura was sure of it. Was Naruto's spirit communicating with her?

**"I promise I'll come back... someday, when I can protect you from myself."**

Sakura felt the voice slipping away as it spoke.

"No, Naruto wait!"

Sakura called in vain, whatever presence inside her that had held back her tears was still there, but Naruto's ghostly voice had gone.

* * *

Naruto awoke on the side of the road, laying on his back, the trader fanning his face.

"Are you okay sir?" The man asked. Naruto sat up slowly and patted the kind merchant on the shoulder.

"Thank you, but I am fine now." Naruto stoop up groggily and made his way back down the road, inspecting his backpack, he was pleased to see that the trader had not robbed him. Letting the Kyubi's voice enter his mind, he began investigating his strange vision.

**"Do you believe you actually communicated with her?" **Kurama asked.

_"She seemed to react to my voice the more I tried to be heard. It was kind of like talking to someone behind a wall, or under water."_

**"Do you think it might have something to do with you using the Hiraishin?"**

_"Maybe... I never thought about that. What if when I used it while holding Sakura, because it was the first time, we some how developed a bond that allowed us to communicate over a great distance?_"

**"You were unfamiliar with the technique, and as far as I can tell it involves the subatomic separation of your body to send you across a great distance... what if when you reassembled yourself, you left some of your soul inside Sakura, and vice-versa?"**

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

_"Woah..."_

If Kurama was correct, that would mean that Naruto and Sakura were permanently connected, unless he could figure out someway to reverse the accident.

_"That would explain why my heart hurt so bad just then... but wouldn't that mean that whatever pain I felt, Sakura would feel as well?"_

**"Possibly, but I don't think it works that way. When you two were in the hospital, Sakura didn't suddenly grow sword wounds to match yours. I'm thinking it works on a more spiritual, emotional level. Like you two are connected at the very core. Physically you may not effect one another, but as your inner power grows hers might as well, and when you are weakened emotionally, you will both feel the pain."**_  
_

_"Far out..."  
_

* * *

The Hokage sighed, the top ninja in the village stood before her. She tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently as they waited for her to address them.

"What do you want?" She finally asked.

The ninja looked at each other, none possessed the courage to speak to the Hokage.

"WELL?" Tsunade asked, her patience growing thinner and thinner.

Lee cleared his throat.

"Hokage-sama, we seek permission to hunt down the rogue Anbu." He asked shakily.

Tsunade stared at the green-clad warrior.

"Why?"

This time Kiba answered.

"Naruto is-was our friend...we want to avenge him."

The ninja nodded, behind him they all stood, the most powerful ninja in the village. Hinata, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shino, Choji, Ino, Guy, Anko, and Iruka, only Sakura was missing.

"A ninja should never seek vengeance, it is a selfish and unbecoming goal. I'm sorry, but you are all needed here."

They all protested, loudly defending their intentions in front of Tsunade.

"SHUT UP!" the Hokage slammed her fist down on her desk, her eyes wandered the room, looking for any who might challenge her decree. Then, Sakura ran into the room, her face seemed almost happy.

"Sorry I'm late!" Tenten had found her on the fourth's head a half hour ago asking her to come to the meeting, but Sakura had been glued to the spot. For good reason, she feared that if she left the spot, Naruto's presence would become less than a memory, more like a dream. She was more than pleased to find out that when she left the monument, she still felt like he was somewhere in her soul. As if he was walking with her. She was also incredibly hungry for ramen.

Seeing Sakura act so joyful after having her best friend declared dead startled everyone in the room.

"Are you okay Sakura?" Ino asked, worried that her best friend had finally lost it.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

Everyone in the room stared at her, sharing a similar thought. Yep, she's crazy.

"What?" She asked, confused. She knew why she should've been sad, but it was hard to believe Naruto was dead, when she could feel him inside her. She remembered what his voice had told her, that one day he would return, and she believed it with all her heart.

Tsunade made a mental note to talk to Sakura in private later, then addressed the rest of the ninja.

"Listen, we just came out of a war a few years ago. We're still recovering from the losses, and we have barely enough shinobi to protect the village. In three years, we should have three more generations of chunin, enough to send on missions and hopefully enough to regain our lost numbers."

The group nodded in acceptance, knowing how long and depressing the wait would be.

"In three years, you can have your revenge... but know this, vengeance is not the path Naruto would've taken. And he wouldn't want you all to harbor hatred either."

The shinobi all bowed their heads, disgusted with themselves. But they could not shake their hatred, and their resolve would not be weakened.

"I will accompany you on your journey... if only to finally put Naruto's ghost to rest."

The metaphor tingled Sakura's heart. And she smiled. Once more, everyone in the room feared for her sanity.

"But Tsunade-sama, you can't leave your post as Hokage." Kakashi stated.

"In three years I will have retired, and named my successor."

Everyone in the room left somberly, remembering how permanently Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage had been dashed.

Sakura remained behind, smiling at her teacher.

"He's still alive you know." She said before leaving. Tsunade stared confused after Sakura closed the door. Had the girl figured it out? Or had she actually lost her marbles? Either way she was right, and if Naruto didn't come back in three years, Tsunade would have to go with them, or risk them killing Naruto trying to get their revenge. She couldn't let that happen, but she couldn't reveal the truth yet either. Naruto's enemies were still out there, and unless they believed him dead, everyone he loved was in danger.

Especially Sakura.

* * *

**THE LAND OF FROST, FOUR DAYS LATER.  
**

Naruto walked through the snow, his new Kage cloak wrapped tightly around his freezing body. Though the wind howled and the ice cold snow bit him as he walked, he was making his way to a large stone obelisk in front of him, and wouldn't give up until he reached it.

_"What is_ _it?"_ He asked. The Kyubi had sensed its large amount of chakra while they were eating in a nearby village, and after paying they had ventured out into the blizzard.

**"I have no idea, but whatever it is...it emits great power."**

Naruto walked onward, until the statue was clearly in view. It was a large nine-tailed fox.

**"Kit, it is a good thing you found this...it is a container of my power, malevolent power stolen from me long ago. Attack it with your sword, and end its control of this place."**

Naruto ripped the Namikaze ninjato from its sheath and swung, slashing the statue in two, and releasing a blinding red light. The statue exploded, sending Naruto and the sword flying in opposite directions. Naruto looked up, and the statue was nothing but rubble. As the red light faded, the blizzard grew weaker and weaker. Soon, the snow had slowed to an light flurry, and the wind had all but stopped.

"That was unusual." Naruto said while pulling himself up out of the snow. He moved his hand to brush the snow off of his new cloak, only to discover that it had been ripped to shreds. He groaned in dismay. _'Oh well, that's what I get for buying from a costume shop.'_

At least the rest of his costume was intact, confirming his suspicions that they were actual shinobi gear. He pulled off the tattered remains of the faux-Kage robes and began looking for his sword.

**"Over there."**

Naruto ran over and picked up the sword, a strange wakizashi-style ninjato, with a long red-wrapped handle, and a fox shaped golden tsuba.

"This isn't mine..."

**"It is, Kit. My chakra has changed it, it is the most powerful sword on the earth now."**

Naruto held it in his hands, the blade was a full hand's length shorter than the handle, and it was curved now. There was no way it would fit his old scabbard. Wrapping the blade in the remains of his kage cloak, he strapped it carefully to his backpack.

"I'll need to find a new saya now." He held the old empty sheath in his hands, taking the forbidden scrolls off one by one.

**"There's something I must tell you about that sword Naruto."**

"What?"

**"The blade reacts to your chakra...It grows stronger as you do."**

Naruto pulled the sword out from its wrapping, admiring its metal sheen. He spun it in his hands then thrust it upward toward the sky.

**"It is yours and yours alone, Uzumaki Naruto."**

"No..." Naruto said smiling, "It is the sword of a Namikaze. Namikaze Naruto."

* * *

**KONOHAGAKUE, THREE DAYS LATER.**

Haruno Sakura stood in front of the Namikaze compound. It had been 2 weeks since Naruto's "funeral". They never found his body, just ashes inside an orange jumpsuit. Even that served only to increase Sakura's resolve that Naruto was in fact, alive. The funeral was large, all of Naruto's friends and comrades were there. Gaara even came to pay his respects.

In a surprise turn of events everything in Naruto's will was spread out amongst the people at the procession, and Sakura earned the biggest one...his house. If it wasn't revealed that he was the last of the Namikazes she would have been given his dingy apartment, instead she was rewarded the vast Namikaze estate. It all seemed a bit too convenient for Sakura's tastes. Not that she was ungrateful, after all, the estate was beautiful. Sitting in the forest just outside the village limits, it seemed to look over Konoha like some passive guardian.

Sakura had decided to move in almost immediately, hoping that living in Naruto's ancestral home would provide her with much needed answers, and if she was lucky, a chance to communicate with Naruto again.

She pushed against the wooden gates and they opened easily enough, revealing a beautifully calm haven from the dense forest exterior. What amazed her most was the lengthy courtyard, that was ordained by what seemed like dozens of cherry blossom trees.

It was amazing.

There were ten or twelve houses lined up on the left and right sides of the courtyard. These houses were by no means small, they were at least twice the size of Sakura's parents houses, but they were dwarfed in comparison to the master house at the head of the estate. Sakura's excitement about the house was only slightly put down by the fact that Naruto wasn't physically there to see it, but his presence felt stronger than ever, and she ran through the estate exploring every nook and cranny.

By the time the sun set, she had comfortably situated herself in the master bedroom of the master house.

* * *

Naruto rejoiced aloud at the sight of grass. He had been in a land of endless snow for almost two weeks now, and though he liked winter as much as the next guy, he desperately wanted to leave its icy grip. If he kept moving at an even pace he could be at the ocean's edge within the next day or two. Smiling at the fact that he wouldn't be landlocked much longer, he increased his pace, only to find himself once again in an inky darkness. This time, his heart did not ache. Instead, he felt truly happy, at peace. Then the blackness faded, and he found himself in a large cozy room.

He looked around quickly for Sakura, questioning whether she was once again the source of his vision. Then he saw her lying on a large bed, still in her shinobi gear, fast asleep.

He walked over to her reached his arm out to touch her, drawing it back at the last second. He knew this was nothing more than a vision, yet he yearned desperately for Sakura to see him as he saw her.

"Sakura... I love you. I promise I'll return soon. Just wait for me a bit longer."

As the vision faded, Sakura woke with a start, screaming his name.

Naruto stood up and continued walking, ignoring the snow that had stuck to his legs.

"Damn." He uttered, "Kurama, how come I can see her, but she can't see me?"

The demon king said nothing.

_"Kurama?" _Naruto probed his thoughts, once again, the fox ignored him, _"I ORDER YOU TO SPEAK TO ME DEMON!"_

**"NO ONE ORDERS ME MORTAL!"**

Naruto chuckled aloud.

**"WHAT IS SO FUNNY!" **the Kyubi roared at Naruto.

_"I got you to speak."_ Naruto chuckled again.

The fox growled then took a deep breath.

**"You are a sly one Kit."**

_"Why so reluctant to talk?"_

**"Well I don't have the answers Naruto... I wish I did but I don't, if you want to figure out how this bond of yours works, you'd have to track down a Namikaze."  
**

"There aren't any Namikazes left..." Naruto said aloud. Inside his head, he could feel the fox nod in agreement. If Naruto truly wanted to understand what now joined him and Sakura, he would have to investigate. Not all of the Namikazes died in the Kyubi attack, so some must still be alive. Maybe the remaining Namikazes left the village after the attack, or maybe they had left before. Either way, Naruto surmised that there was a good chance that there were living Namikazes outside of Konohagakure.

With false hope, Naruto hurried to the ocean.

* * *

**UNKNOWN BEACH, FOUR DAYS LATER.**

Naruto stood before a large and elaborate temple. Two gargoyles guarded the front gate. He walked forward, his hand gripped to his sword. As he took each step he watched...and waited.

He was now only a few feet from the door, but he was still wary.

He was now only a few inches from the door.

Now centimeters.

His hand rested on the doors handle.

**"What's the matter kit...scared?"**

_"No...It's just that...things aren't always what they seem when my ancestry is involved."_

Naruto pulled on the handle and the door slowly swung open. The inside of the temple was plain, it had no roof, and the floor was a hard rock surface.

"Hello!" Naruto continued to walk into the temple. "Is anyone here?"

Naruto saw a shining light swing down on him from the corner of his eye. He barely had time to pull out his sword before the enemy blade came crashing down on him.

"INTRUDER!" Naruto spun around toward the voice but no one was there. "TRESPASSER!"

Naruto brought his sword up to his face and dropped into a defensive stance.

"I mean you no harm...My name is Namikaze, I seek information from you. A man in the village told me my uncle once lived here. A man named Jubei." Naruto heard a shuffle and turned in time to see a flash of light and hear the clanging of metal.

"Namikaze eh?" This swordsman, whoever he was, was everywhere and nowhere. "So surely you seek training from me? The greatest swordsman in the world?"

"No, I just want information!" Naruto said. Suddenly a masked swordsman appeared before him.

"Very well. I will train you...If you prove yourself." The masked swordsman bowed and raised his sword in the air.

"You aren't listening to me!."The swordsman swung down, and Naruto rolled into a dodge. He stood up and turned around, throwing his sword behind him. It plunged into a wall, and the wall rippled...revealing chakra wires emitting from a camouflage cloak.

The chakra wires were released, and the masked swordsman fell.

"Excellent." The voice spoke as Naruto approached the wall. "My first student to pass the preliminaries."

"Are you deaf or something? I'm not here to train, I'm here for information regarding Jubei Namikaze."

A blonde haired woman no older than Naruto appeared from behind the curtain, a smile on her face.

"You're a woman?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" She dusted off her pants and walked towards Naruto. "Can a woman not fight as well as a man?"

"I've fought many a woman with strength far greater than my own." Naruto sheathed his sword, "But you're barely older than me! How can you be the greatest swordsman in the world?"

"How about this," The woman pulled a large sword out from behind her back, "We spar, if I win, I get to train you, If I lose, you get your information. Deal?"

Naruto shrugged.

"I don't see why not." The boy pulled out the Namikaze Ninjato and swung it.

"Very well, now the real test begins."

Their blades met in the air high above the temple, each of them moving with a speed the human eye could barley track. After several minutes Ringo's sword met its mark on Naruto's chest, the flat side of the blade bashing his sternum. Naruto was thrown back to the ground and collided with the rock, smashing it into pieces around him.

"You...hit...hard." Naruto sat up slowly, Kurama began healing his cracked ribs.

The woman landed softly in front of him, smirking.

"You're a fast healer...excellent." She extended her arm and pulled him up, "Your style's pretty good, and you've got one hell of a sword arm... but you're too slow."

Before Naruto could object she threw something at him, the heavy object knocked him to the ground.

"Put on these weights, and let's try this again."

"Wait!"

"What? You lost, now you're my student. Now put on those weights and let's get to work."

"Well what's your name at least?"

The woman smiled at him.

"My name is Ringo." She bowed.

Naruto bowed back in respect. Whether or not this woman was the greatest swordsman in the world, he could still stand to learn a few pointers. After all, he had never actually received specific sword-training before.

"Shall we begin then?" Naruto asked, slipping the weights onto his arms and legs. Looking up, he saw Ringo running straight towards him.

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk, bored and tired. Shizune was nowhere to be found, and Sakura had been shut-in at the Namikaze compound for what seemed like weeks. Occasionally the girl would pop in, and discuss some knew facet of her investigation. Typically she would just rant about hearing Naruto's voice or feeling him inside her.  
Tsunade chuckled.

"Being inside her would make that boy very happy indeed." She said to herself, not noticing that she had company.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes? Who's there?" The Hokage looked around the room, quickly spotting a small toad on her desk.

"Naruto-sama sent me." The toad croaked.

"Shhhh! Okay, I'm glad, but we have to whisper okay?"

The toad croaked.

"What news do you bring?"

"I have a scroll." The toad bowed his head, revealing the small scroll on his back. Tsunade took it and unrolled it.

'Dear Baa-chan,

How are you? I am well, I hope you are well as well. How is everyone? Fine I hope. Found a new teacher, she may or may not have information about my clan. If you need to tell me anything just send a scroll with my messenger toad. Bye.'

Tsunade smiled and and pulled out a piece of parchment. With any luck, Naruto would be able to tell her if he had really communicated with Sakura, or if the girl had actually gone insane. Tsunade prayed for the former.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the kind words and patronage,  
**

**Enjoy.  
**

**Chapter 3**

**The Short-Lived Apprenticeship of Naruto to the Greatest Swordsman Who Ever Lived, and the Even Shorter-Lived Team Inuzuka.  
**

The first time Haruno Sakura heard the doorbell at the Namikaze compound, it scared her half to death. It was a loud bell, and it resounded throughout the entirety of the estate. It wasn't an unpleasant sound, just very grandiose and orchestral for something as simple as a doorbell. She had been sitting on the emperor sized bed when it rang, and she spilled tea all over the book she was reading and ruined the bed's sheets.

After that experience, she had always been wary that the bell could ring at any moment, and she never drank tea on the bed.

This time when the doorbell rang, she was sitting at the kitchen table. She was still startled and spilled a few drops of tea, but they landed harmlessly enough on the wood table top.

She made her way to the main gate, hoping as always that it was a Naruto, but expecting as always that it was not.

"Sakura!"

"Ino!"

The two friends pulled each other into a warming hug. Sakura frowned into Ino's shoulder, when she had seen the blonde hair, she almost thought it was Naruto.

"How are you, forehead?"

"I'm great, pig. How are you?" Sakura asked, sticking her tongue out at her friend, "You want to get something to eat?"

"I'd love too, what do you want?"

"How about Ichiraku?"

Ino's eye twitched.

"Seriously?"

"Mhmm." Sakura nodded happily.

"Whatever you say Sakura... haha... Ha."

So together the two childhood friends made their way out of the forest and into the village of Konoha. In the month or two that Sakura had been living in the Namikaze compound, she had made the trip several times, but the transition between the almost ancient sanctuary and the modern world always amazed her. Sure the estate had all the modern technology Sakura needed to get on with her day, electricity, heat, a microwave, etc., but the almost temple like quality of the buildings and the walls held an almost otherworldly charm. It was as if every time Sakura walked through that wooden gate, she was entering the past.

Of course every time she walked back out, she was entering the boring world of the present. Where food came in a can, and Naruto was still presumed dead.

They arrived at Ichiraku about ten minutes after leaving the estate, and by the time they arrived, Sakura was too deep in thought to notice. She went right on walking, straight past the bar stools, until Ino called her name.

"We're here you know."

Looking around, Sakura realized in embarrassment what she had done. She smiled sheepishly at Ino.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. I was just... lost in thought I guess."

Ino nodded in understanding, and the two took their seats. They both ordered a bowl, but it was clear from the start that Ino wasn't hungry for ramen. As Sakura ate her noodles, the blonde just swirled them around in her bowl.

"So Sakura, it must get pretty lonely up in that place all by yourself..." Ino said, spinning her chopsticks counter-clockwise.

"No, not really." Sakura answered between mouthfuls of ramen. Ino was shocked, her childhood friend actually seemed to be enjoying the food.

"Oh, yeah?" Ino didn't want to take that route of conversation any farther, it almost always ended with Sakura saying that part of Naruto lived inside her, "Well, how's life going?"

"Pretty swell, you?"

"Um, fine..." Ino looked into her bowl and threw her chopsticks down in frustration, "Sakura, I think you need a boyfriend!"

"What?" Sakura asked, laughing at her friend's ridiculousness, "Where on earth did that come from?"

"Maybe someone special will help you get your mind off of... Naruto."

"I don't want to get my mind off of Naruto Ino... he's my best friend, I can't just pretend like he no longer exists."

Ino was not only stung by the fact that Sakura had said Naruto was her best friend, she also had became more and more frustrated with Sakura's failure to accept Naruto's death.

"Sakura, you can't keep doing this to yourself! Naruto's dead... it sucks but it's true. Everyone wants it to be a lie, but they found his body. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can move on." Ino said while rubbing Sakura's shoulder, hoping to calm the inevitable storm of tears that was quickly approaching.

Too her surprise, Sakura remained relatively calm.

"They found ashes in some of his old clothing Ino, that doesn't prove anything."

"Well what about the Anbu guy? Tsunade-sama seemed pretty sure that he killed Naruto!"

"Not to overstep my bounds, but I think Tsunade-shisho is hiding something..." Sakura said, "Plus, Tatsumaki seemed pretty adamant that he didn't kill Naruto."

"Wait!" Ino interjected, "You met this Tatsumaki guy?!"

Sakura pushed her empty bowl of ramen aside, and cleared her throat.

"Well, I guess now that Naruto's been officially 'declared' dead, there's no point in hiding it anymore."

"Hiding what?!" Ino asked impatiently. Sakura took a deep breath.

"Alright, so a few months ago, me and Sasuke were called to Tsunade-shisho's office and given a mission with Tatsumaki. Naruto had gone missing that morning, and the three of us were supposed to bring him back without incident-"

"Why was Naruto missing?!"

"Because he tried to steal the Namikaze Ninjato from Tatsumaki- Don't you listen!?" Immediately after scolding Ino, Sakura realized that she hadn't actually included that information yet, but instead of apologizing, she continued, "So after a few days of searching for Naruto we didn't find anything, and Sasuke wigged out and slit Tatsumaki's throat-"

"Wait, Tatsumaki's dead?!"

"SHUTTUP AND LET ME FINISH!" Sakura had stood up on the bar stool, screaming at her friend. When Ino seemed to calm down, she continued, "Tatsumaki had protected himself with a forbidden technique of the Namikazes-"

"How-"

"Which he knew because the ninjato's saya was covered in forbidden scrolls. So after he healed, Sasuke convinced me that Tatsumaki had in fact, killed Naruto, and framed him to take the blame for stealing the scrolls. At the time it made sense, but looking back, I think I might have been a bit hasty. Anyway, we tried to kill him, but he used the rasengan and I blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm lying in a hospital bed and the Hokage tells the village my best friend is dead."

"Woah..."

"And get this, if Tatsumaki did kill Naruto, he protested it until the very end. When we discussed it with him before, he told us that he saw Naruto as a hero, and if he were powerful enough to kill Naruto without anyone knowing, why didn't he just kill me and Sasuke right then?"

"Well maybe he would have if Sasuke hadn't taken you back to the village!" Ino pointed out, feeling intelligent.

Sakura shook her head.

"That's the thing, Sasuke didn't take me back to the village!" Ino's eyes flashed with confusion, "Sasuke didn't even get to the village until right before Tsunade-shisho announced Naruto's death. Almost a whole day after I arrived!"

Now Ino was completely clueless.

"Well then who took you back?"

"I was too sad to ask for a few days, but when I returned to the hospital Tsunade-shisho told me that I was just left in her office. I went to ask Sasuke, but Kakashi told me he left on a year long mission! I'm gonna ask him as soon as he gets back, but if Tsunade was telling me the truth, that means whoever got me back to Konoha did it in only a couple of hours. We were almost in Sunagakure when I blacked out!"

Ino was in a state of utter shock, if she had known everything that Sakura had known from the beginning, she'd probably have trouble believing Naruto was dead too. They walked back to Ino's apartment in silence, but from them on Sakura's sanity was never again questioned.

By Ino at least.

* * *

**HOURS LATER, RINGO'S TEMPLE.**

"OW!" Naruto had held his hand open quite willingly when Ringo asked, but when she placed a hot coal in it, he just about had a meltdown. Throwing the coal away, he began running around the room in panic, "What the fuck woman!?"

Naruto was tough, but nothing bugged him worst than the stinging pain of a burn. He tried blowing on it with his mouth, but that did nothing to soothe the wound. He looked around the room, hoping to find water, but there was nothing.

"Why?!" He asked, screaming at the chuckling Ringo.

"We're working on controlling your inner rage... and you aren't doing a good job."

"You don't know how this fucking feels!"

Ringo held up a closed fist and opened it slowly, she was holding a hot coal in her palm. Naruto's jaw dropped, and Ringo smiled at him again.

"How do you do that?!"

"I control my anger."

"How?! This hurts!"

"Instead of ignoring the pain..." She walked forward and once more placed the coal in his hand. Naruto's face scrunched up like he had eaten something sour, "I embrace it. Tell me, what brings you more happiness than anything else in the world?"

Naruto instantly thought of Sakura, and his mind was drawn away from the pain.

"Good good! Now whatever that is, focus on it. Think of absolutely nothing but whatever you're thinking of right now!"

Naruto nodded and sat lotus style on the cold floor. His mind completely empty, except for the image of his one true love.

Then Ringo dumped a bucket of cold water on him.

"AHH!" He stood up quickly, "First off, what the hell!? Secondly, where was that when my hand was on fire!?"

"No no no! Be calm, concentrate on your happy thought!"

"My happy thought?" Naruto asked, chuckling at the corniness. Then another bucket of cold water hit his face, "Where are you getting those!?"

"Sit and focus!"

Naruto glared, but did as he was told. It took a few more buckets and the occasional fresh hot coal, but in a few hours, Naruto had mastered the happy thought.

"Good, now with some practice, that happy thought will be able to get you through the most excruciating pain, and the most aggravating circumstances. When I'm done with you, you'll be the least temperamental person you know." Ringo threw him his ninjato, "Now, back to the sword stuff."

Before Naruto could prepare himself, Ringo attacked with a serious of devastating cuts. The wounds weren't very deep, but they hurt.

"OW!"

"Happy thought!"

"It's hard to think about happy things when you're turning me into shredded cheese!"

"That's why it's important to practice!" Ringo threw Naruto an inviting wave, signaling that it was his turn to attack. Doing his best to hold on to the image of Sakura, he charged.

Naruto's body went through the movements, and his instincts covered for any weakness in his technique, but his his thoughts were completely focused on his most special person, and he hardly noticed when he won.

Ringo sat on the ground below him, her sword broken clean in two. Naruto's ninjato was pointed right at her throat and he was staring at her quite stoically. At first she was frightened but then he sheathed his weapon and offered a friendly hand. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet, a smile on his face.

"Alright, you're a quick learner. I'll admit, I expected you to take at least a year to surpass me." Ringo dusted off her pants.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises."

"Okay, well for my first student you didn't do half bad. Don't let the door kick you on the way out." Ringo turned to walk away, but Naruto grabbed her by the arm.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yeah, I think it's my arm. Let go of it so I can take it with me."

"I came here for information, I played your game-"

"That wasn't a game! That was training!"

"You're right, I'm sorry. I appreciate the training. But I came here for information, and I'm not leaving without it."

Ringo thought for a minute, then nodded. Gesturing towards the door that led to the interior section of the large temple, she asked,

"What do you want to know?"

* * *

Naruto was amazed, he stood in the largest library he had ever seen, and every scroll that lined the wall was devoted to his clan.

"This is incredible! Where did all these come from?"

"My father was the historian for the Namikaze clan. He left Konohagakure to live with my mother... mom died in childbirth."

"I'm sorry..." Naruto said, knowing how difficult life without a mother could be, "Your father?"

"Lived by the sword, died by the sword... but not before teaching me how to do the same."

"Was he Jubei?"

"Yeah... I guess that makes us cousins then." Ringo said, sticking out her tongue.

To her surprise Naruto pulled her into a hug.

"I've never had a real relative until now." He loosened his grip and smiled at her, "Come back to Konoha with me, when I go."

"Oh? You think this temple here will run itself?"

"We can take all this with us! The temple won't fall to shambles while you're gone, and all this information belongs in the Namikaze compound."

Ringo said nothing for some time, debating whether or not to take Naruto up on his offer.

"I'll let you sleep on it. I'm not going to back to Konoha for a while anyway... do you mind if I stay up and read some of these scrolls?"

"Go ahead..." Ringo left the room, heading to her sleeping quarters, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight." Naruto said as she left, reaching for the nearest scroll.

**"Use clones, we'll learn more things quicker."**

"Good point." Naruto summoned twenty clones and they all spread out amongst the room, reading everything they could touch.

**"Keep an eye out for anything on the Hiraishin, maybe we can figure out what really happened with you and Sakura."**

"Yeah, and while I'm at it I can master the technique..."

Naruto didn't sleep a wink that night, and by the time the sun rose, he had found what he was looking for.

"Here!" One of Naruto's clones pulled forth a large scroll, the complete guide to the Hiraishin. Naruto looked carefully at the credited authors, one of them was Naruto's father. He read through the first few sections of the scroll as the sun climbed higher and higher, and by the time Ringo awoke, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of his kekai genkai.

"What are you reading about?"

"Um... the Hiraishin... know anything about it?"

"Not really... my dad was too focused on swordplay to ever learn how to use it... I'm not even sure if he could, he might've been born without the ability."

"Okay..." Naruto had stopped really listening to her after she said not really, he was getting close to what he needed to know. After breezing through the majority of the section on side effects, he found exactly what he was looking for, "Here it is!"

Naruto dispelled all his clones and sat down, focusing all his attention on one paragraph.

"The first time we use the Hiraishin, it often occurs during moments of stress. In the not so rare event that the user is using the technique to transport someone else along with them, the instability can lead to a strange occurrence. While we in the clan affectionately call this the Namikaze bond, it is far more serious than one might think. When the bits and pieces of our bodies and spirits are dissembled, it takes a great deal of effort and skill to reassemble them on the other side. The Namikaze bond occurs when the user accidentally assembles themselves with a fraction of their companions soul inside them, and vice versa. There are no real negative side effects to the bond, and it can be a powerful tool in teamwork, companionship, and in some cases mating. -Namikaze Minato."

"What?" Ringo asked, confused.

_"You were right Kurama."_

**"I usually am."**_  
_

"Ringo are you coming with me? I have a lot of work to do."

"Yes, I've decided to return to Konoha." Ringo said, her voice filled with fear.

"Don't worry, it'll all work out." Naruto gestured towards the many scrolls, "Help me pack all this stuff up and take it outside."

It took a few minutes, but soon all the scrolls were lined up outside the temple. Naruto did a few quick hand-signs, and summoned his favorite toad.

"Gamabunta!"

"Naruto! What the hell do you want!?" Ringo was scared stiff by the giant toad, and fainted shortly after he began to speak, "I was just about to enjoy a hot bath!"

"Can you take these scrolls up to Mount Myoboku? They belong to my family and I would like to keep them safe." Naruto asked, his voice soft and pleading.

"Oh... well sure. I can do that."

"Thanks boss, it means a lot."

"No problem kid, just let me know when you want them back." With a puff of smoke, Gamabunta and the scrolls were gone.

It took Ringo a while to wake up, and Naruto didn't bother explaining the toads to her once she had.

"Now listen Ringo, I can't go back into my home the way I am."

"What do you mean?"

"I had to fake my own death in order to protect Konohagakure from an enemy I'm still not sure if I can defeat." Ringo nodded, "I was able to live among my friends for a while in the guise of my Anbu alter ego, but I'm afraid that that disguise has lost its usefulness."

"So what are you asking me?" Ringo asked, impatiently.

"I want to disguise myself as Namikaze Jubei..."

"You're way to young to be my father."

"Well we can just pretend that we're brother and sister, and the last of the Namikazes-"

"Which we are."

"-Just so I can get into the village and take care of a few things. Hopefully I won't draw my enemies out of hiding by returning, but if everyone believes the ruse, we should be alright."

"Well I'm willing to pretend as long as you are... but there's one small problem."

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Those whisker-marks, who else is gonna have them but you?"

Naruto thought for a moment. She was right, he had been lucky enough to avoid any town that would recognize him as a jinchuriki from his facial markings alone, but as soon as he stepped foot in Konoha people would realize that Uzumaki Naruto had not died.

"I'll have to find someway to cover my cheeks."

* * *

**OUTSKIRTS OF THE LAND OF FIRE, DAYS LATER.**

Naruto smiled as he walked in close proximity of his home. Being this close truly made him happy, and he was only slightly saddened by the fact that he could not return yet. Well, at least not as himself. He had found a face plate like Yamoto's, and now currently wore it, covering his whisker marks quite effectively. His hair had grown longer in the past months, and his face had grown more defined from his minimalist diet. If he looked at himself before all this started, even he might not even be able to tell the difference.

Upon entering one of Konoha's satellite villages, Naruto left Ringo at a weapons stall and made his way into the center of the town. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but for some reason he had a feeling that he might bump into an acquaintance. He passed many common villagers, but one man caught his eye. He had on a black coat with fur lining. He also had red curved triangles on his cheeks.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba knocked Naruto to the ground and covered his mouth.

"My apologies sir." Kiba's voice changed to a harsh whisper, "How do you know my name!"

Naruto nodded at him and pointed to a nearby resturant. Kiba stood up.

"Here allow me to buy you dinner to make up for it." The Inuzuka was a terrible actor, but odds are no one was paying any attention to the two shinobi.

Naruto led Kiba into the resturant and they sat in the back.

"Now," Kiba stared in anger, "How do you know me."

Naruto smiled and looked into Kiba's eyes, when Kiba failed to recognize him Naruto spoke up.

"You are of the fighting Inuzuka clan of Konohagakure...I have heard much of you and your ninja hounds."

Kiba smiled at the recognition.

"Allright, just keep quiet about it...I'm undercover."

Naruto nodded but then frowned.

"Where is your ninja hound?"

Kiba opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a loud crash.

"JUBEI!" Ringo's voice projected into the small restaurant and Naruto walked out, Kiba followed him.

Several paces away from the resturant Ringo lied on the ground, A very large white dog was growling at her, his large paws holding her down.

"Dammit Akumaru cut it out!" Akumaru looked up towards Kiba and saw an old friend beside his master.

Akumaru began to bark and yip, but a stare from Naruto silenced him, the intelligent dog nodded, he would not reveal Naruto's secret yet.

"What is it boy?" Akumara barked to Kiba. "So what? Don't attack people for smelling like battle."

Akumaru let her up and Ringo walked toward Kiba.

"So that was your mutt?" Kiba looked at the woman, she was beautiful...and he was captivated. "Hello?"

Kiba shook his mind free of pesky thoughts and nodded.

"Please excuse me miss...?"

"Namikaze Ringo."

A dog's name, Kiba was in love.

"Um, um...My name is um...Kiba, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand, all she did was stare at it. "What...did you say Namikaze!? But the Namikaze clan is wiped out!"

"Jubei, who is this guy?" Ringo said, annoyed by Kiba's very emotional display.

The Inuzuka turned around quickly.

Naruto smirked.

"Me and my uh, sister, are probably the last of our clan. My name is Jubei," Naruto put his hands in his pockets, "Namikaze Jubei!"

KIba stared at him, puzzled.

"If you're of the Namikaze clan...you should come back with me to Konoha."

Naruto cringed, afraid.

"When?"

Kiba thought for a minute then answered.

"After my mission."

"Mission?"

"Top secret."

Naruto leaned in close.

"I'm in."

"What?" Kiba asked confused.

"I want to help you on your mission!"

"No offense Jubei, but I highly doubt you're fully equipped to handle a mission of this caliber."

Naruto frowned.

"I'll have you know, that me and my sister here, are the two greatest swordsmen who ever lived."

Kiba stared at the two skeptically, then shrugged.

"What do you think Akamaru?" The dog barked, "That's good enough for me. Welcome to team Inuzuka!"

* * *

Sakura smiled at the genin she was currently bandaging. The boy was arrogant and annoying, but also cute in a very Uzumaki fashion. Sakura had returned to active hospital duty a few days ago, under encouragement from both Ino and Tsunade, who desperately wanted to see Sakura getting back into the swing of things. In fact she was she was due at the Hokage tower a half hour ago... but at the moment she felt the injured genin deserved her attention more than the Hokage.

"You know you're really pretty!"

Sakura blushed and smiled at the youth.

"Thank you, you're not so bad yourself young man." Sakura helped the 10 year old down from his place on the examination table. Sakura had been pretty impressed with the boy's resume. He had graduated from the academy quite early, and showed great promise for being entered into the chunnin exams in a year or two. Of course sometimes determination can lead to injury, evidenced clearly by the boys kunai inflicted wound that was currently healing behind a bandage.

"You remind me of Uzumaki Naruto's girlfriend!"

Sakura gasped, and had to take a breath before speaking.

"Is that so?"

"Did you know Naruto? He's my hero. One day, I want to die for my village like him!"

Sakura felt her eyes slowly start to water, then the warming presence in her soul started to swell.

"You wanna know a secret?" Sakura knelt down to the boy's height, he nodded eagerly, "Naruto is still alive."

The boy gasped.

"Really!? HOW!?"

"I don't know how... but his nindo is that he never goes back on his word... and he promised me that soon he would return to Konoha." Sakura said smiling.

To her surprise, the boy hugged her.

"I have to go now... but let me know as soon as Naruto gets back please!" The boy ran out of the room, no doubt to hurt himself even more. Sakura smiled to herself, then the genin poked his head back through the door, "You are Naruto's girlfriend, aren't you?"

Sakura gasped again, and her face turned quite red.

"Um... I guess you could say that."

"You are! Wow! I'm so glad I got to meet you!" The boy smiled from ear to ear, "I hope one day, I have a girlfriend as pretty as you!"

This time the boy really left. Sakura fought tears of pride and sadness as she collected her things and headed to the Hokage tower.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**An Ultimate Homecoming**

Naruto followed Kiba into a dusty alley. His "sister" Ringo was close behind them, and Akamaru walked slowly behind her. The alley was long and narrow, and the ground was unpaved. There walls on either side of them were bare, save for some poorly written graffiti, but at the end of the alley, a large wooden door stood. Pad locks lined it from top to bottom. There was no handle.

"So what's in there?" Ringo asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

Kiba looked back to her, smiling. Then he turned back to the door. Suddenly, all the locks fell off, and the door opened slowly. Three men stepped forth, talking amongst themselves and laughing loudly. Then they saw team Inuzuka, and stood in shock.

"What the hell are you doing out here!?"

Naruto looked at Kiba, who nonchalantly reached for his right thigh, where his weapons pouch was strapped. He looked up at Naruto and nodded. Naruto raised an eyebrow, and looked back toward the three strangers.

"Answer me! You aren't supposed to be back here!"

"Now!" Kiba pulled a shuriken from his pouch and threw it right between the speaking strangers eyes. As he fell, his two friends followed suit, but Naruto hadn't even moved. A confused Kiba looked to the man he knew as Jubei.

"What'd you do?"

"I told you I was fast." Naruto smiled, but it all honesty he hadn't done anything. He had assumed that Kiba was going to take care of all three. After all, he assumed any chunin-level or higher shinobi possessed the ability to accurately throw more than one projectile. Someone or something else had fallen the other two men, but Naruto didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Kiba, and kept this realization to himself. Kiba checked the pulses of all three dead men, and nodded to himself.

"Let's move." He moved quickly into the building, drawing a kunai and propping himself up against the door's opposing wall. He gestured to be followed.

"Would you please tell us what we're doing?" Ringo asked, frustrated. Naruto patted her on the back and walked into the building. The door slammed closed behind him. He heard the locks set. He and Kiba were trapped in complete darkness.

"What the hell did you do?" Kiba asked. He moved blindly in the darkness, and bumped into the Namikaze.

"Watch where you're going Kiba!" Naruto shoved his temporary captain away, pushing him into the wall.

"Take it easy Namikaze!" Kiba swung a fist lightly into the darkness, but he failed to connect with anything.

"Did you just try to punch me?"

"No!"

"You're the one who needs to take it easy!" Naruto stepped on Kiba's foot.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, accident."

"That was sarcastic!"

Suddenly the hall filled with light, and Naruto and Kiba found themselves staring at the business ends of thirty or so spears.

"What are you doing here?!" A voice called from behind the wall of spears.

Naruto looked at the spear-men. None of them seemed to hold themselves like traditionally trained spear-men, if it weren't for the fact that they had constructed such a perfect line of spear tips, He and Kiba would have been able to take them out with minimal effort. But now they had to worry about getting around eight inches of folded steel in every direction.

"SPEAK!"

Then Naruto remembered his special talent, and appeared behind the spear-men in a golden flash.

"Hi." He waved from behind them. The spear-men all turned their head, and stared at him in horrible fear. Because of their formation and the narrow walls, they could not turn around with their weapons and face him. They were completely exposed. Several of the more foolish men tried to turn around, slashing at their comrades in their haste. Others dropped their spears and tried to run, but found themselves trapped by the weapons of their allies.

Naruto drew his sword, and slowly walked toward them. Every step seemed to increase the fear and desperation of the spear-men. Most of them were screaming. Every few seconds one would go crazy from terror and spin around desperately with his spear, cutting up his friends, and ultimately impaling himself.

Naruto took a step and another step. He almost sighed. If the men had just calmed down, and slowly lifted their spears back to a neutral position, they could have safely turned around and recreated their formation. But, as Naruto had assessed, they had no formal training with their chosen weapons, and that would ultimately be their doom.

He took one more step, and by now the dozen men had been reduced to a third of their original number. He heartlessly slashed at them, and the collapsed to the floor, joining their fallen comrades. On the other side of the dead bodies, Kiba stood in amazement.

"That was awesome! You killed most of them just by looking at them!" By now, Naruto was sadly assuming that Kiba was a far worse ninja then he remembered. Of course, he thought to himself, maybe I've just gotten so good, that anything that resembles mediocrity looks just like lack of skill.

He smiled, his head now filled with self praise.

"So what are we doing here Kiba?" He moved toward the door, hoping that in the light he would be able to pick the locks. Then an alarm went off.

"C'mon! We need to hurry!" Kiba grabbed Naruto by the arm and raced down the hallway, dragging the Namikaze with him. The Inuzuka kicked down a door at the end of the stretch and threw Naruto through it.

"Find the leader! I'm going to free the hostages!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Naruto screamed after him, but Kiba sped down the hallway and wasn't planning on turning around, "Damn!"

Naruto looked around the room he now found himself in. It was small, and there were doors on either wall. They weren't labeled, so Naruto had no clue which one to head through.

"Great... just brillant."

* * *

Naruto had tried every single door but one. It took him only a few seconds to eliminate all of them but the last one. All the doors he checked led to empty rooms. So of course, this last door had to lead him to where he needed to go. Of course sometimes the logical just didn't work out.

Behind the last door stood another empty room.

"What?" his eyes scanned the room quickly, but except for a painting on the far wall, it was identical to the other rooms. Sometimes instinct is more important than logic, so Naruto took a deep breath and walked over to the painting. It was pretty garish, and the small house looked like it was painted by a child. He slowly traced the sides of the frame with his hands, looking for something, something he didn't know what. He exhaled and pulled the painting away, revealing a square recess in the wall.

A rope hung from the top of the recess, and Naruto pulled at it.

Creaking gears sounded from behind the wall, and Naruto stepped backward as a hidden door opened. It was dark, and Naruto stepped hesitantly through the opened wall. His foot didn't touch the floor as he expected it to, but it fell a few inches further onto a step.

Stairs then.

He started walking, keeping one hand on the wall, tracing it as he followed the stairs downward. In his other hand, he clenched the weapon of his ancestors. His eyes adjusted to the lack of light rather quickly, and his surroundings became apparent.

He was overcome with the feeling that he was walking down into an ancient dungeon. Then a Samurai suddenly appeared before him, and he collided.

The Samurai and Naruto went tumbling down the cobblestone stairwell, ultimately landing hard on the cold floor at the bottom of the steps. To Naruto's shock, the Samurai had fallen to pieces underneath him. Then he realized that it wasn't a real Samurai at all, just a suit of armor someone had placed on the steps.

"Cool!" Naruto said aloud. Overcome with the coolness of the armor, he took off his blue vest and started putting it on. The plate armor slid easily over his chest, and the armor that dropped below his waist covered his crotch and legs in all the right places. Then he pulled the vambraces and the shin guards on, and slid the tabi socks onto his feet. Finally he put on the straw zori, which strapped around his ankles. He discarded the mustached mask, but pulled the horned Kabuto onto his head, and strapped it under his chin.

He wished he had a mirror to admire himself. Then he remembered he was a ninja, and summoned a shadow clone. Naruto stared at his doppleganger, admiring himself in his new samurai armor.

"I look so freaking cool." He swung his ninjato and slashed the shadow clone into smoke.

A voice pierced the darkness.

"I would appreciate it... if you took off my armor."

Naruto stared into the darkness, straining his eyes in an attempt to discern the owner of the disembodied voice. Then the lights turned on, and his world went white.

"Take my armor off now."

Slowly his eyes readjusted, and he took in the sight of a large bald man, wearing nothing but a tightly bound loincloth.

"Are you the... uh, the leader of whatever this is?"

"This is my establishment, my business, my home... and that is my armor." The bald man whispered. His voice trembled with anger.

"I think... that I'm supposed to kill you." Naruto said, frowning. The bald man tensed, and then started to shake. At first Naruto thought he was convulsing, then his voice erupted into boisterous laughter.

"Then at last my prayers have been answered!" The man walked across the room to a wall covered with weapons, he looked over them for half a moment, then back at Naruto. Then he ripped a ridiculously curved katana from the wall, "I only hope, that you are at least a worthy challenge."

He swung, and the sheath flew off of his sword, flying across the room. Then he charged at Naruto, and caught the boy off guard with his speed. He barely had time to block, and the force of the blow made his arm feel as if it had broken.

"Fuck!" Naruto dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way as another slash barely missed his head. He ducked, dodged and wove his way above and below his bald opponents hacking and slashing sword, but the moves were too quick for him to keep up with. Every time he avoided an attack, he would be powerless to throw his own. He had never met anyone of such dazzling speed.

Clearing his mind while running his acrobat act, Naruto focused on the image of Sakura.

Her lips moved.

"Down."

He ducked underneath his opponent, rolling between his legs. Bouncing off the floor, Naruto threw an upward slashed that was blocked with ease. The bald man had turned around before Naruto had finished rolling.

"Right." His image of Sakura commanded. Naruto did as he was told, rolling to the right just as the bald man swung to his left. Naruto took a downward strike, but his blade was bounced away by his enemies, "Stop fucking around and hit him, Naruto."

Naruto held his sword in his right hand, and batted at the bald man with his left. His enemy brought up his sword to block, and in his momentum, Naurto's middle finger suddenly felt extremely warm and wet. Naruto spun around, and sent his sword into the right side of the bald man's skull. This time he didn't parry, but fell to the ground. Dead.

Naruto let the image of Sakura fade from his mind, and pried the sword from the corpse's cranium. Then he felt extreme pain in his left middle finger. Looking down, he saw the skin hanging from the bone.

"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck." He said, fucking shit. He imagined Sakura, and slowly he felt the pain fade away. But it didn't disappear entirely, he still felt it like a distant heartbeat, just on the threshold of pain. He walked back over to his blue vest, and in regret he tore a strip from the softest part of the fabric. It was either that or the bald dead guy's loincloth, he told himself. So in resignation, he bandaged his finger with his once treasured vest.

* * *

Naruto stumbled through in open door into the brillant stunning daylight. He was moving like a drunk, the sudden wash of light after wandering through what felt like miles of dark tunnels had thrown his equilibrium. He almost fell before his eyes adjusted to the influx of UV.

"Fuck you Kiba!" He yelled at no one in particular. He had no clue where he was, and looking back at where he emerged from did nothing to help him. Wherever he had actually been, all he saw now was a shack in the middle of a wasted landscape. The sand was hard and cracked, and all the vegetation was grayed and dried out from extreme dehydration. He reckoned that he would soon share their fate if he didn't find his way back to team Inuzuka, but one thing was for damn sure. He was not going back blindly into that tunnel.

He looked down at is middle finger, seeing the blue fabric soaked through with blood. He wished that Sakura was with him, but not for the usual reason. He rubbed his forehead, sliding his palm over the cool metal of his forehead protector.

"You and team Inuzuka can rot and hell! You fucking god-damned idiot!" Naruto kicked the air menacingly, then threw his hands around his body like a choking spastic. The pain returned in waves, but through his frustration he couldn't maintain the image of Sakura for more than a few precious, painless, moments. Then he remembered once more how handy his clan's secret technique could be, and focused hard on the alley he stood with his friends in some time ago. It was hard, for his mind was wandering while they were there, his thoughts were fogged with predictions of the upcoming battle, but eventually he was able to remember how far apart the walls were, and that would be enough to keep him from being crushed into oblivion in a millisecond.

Closing his eyes, he flashed.

"Open dammit!"

Opening his eyes, he saw Ringo and Akamaru trying to opened the heavily locked door, which meant, unfortunately, that Kiba had yet to come out.

"God damn that Kiba." Ringo and Akamaru jumped at his voice.

* * *

Naruto had, with great difficulty, teleported Akamaru, Ringo, and himself into one of the empty rooms he had explored while searching for the bald man. The now dead bald man. With his tight, creepy, sweaty loincloth. Naruto tried not to think about all the times the loincloth had touched the armor he now was wearing. Tried. Tried his damnedest.

"Where did you get those sweet duds, Jubei?" Ringo asked, touching his shoulder plates, "Samurai armor is expensive as hell, and you certainly didn't buy that in the market in town."

Naruto shrugged, but he blushed beneath his face plate. He was glad he wasn't the only one who thought the armor was totally badass. Akamaru's nose perked up, and he started sniffing the air around them.

"What is it boy?" Ringo asked, apparently during their time in the alley, she had taken a liking to Akamaru.

"Do you smell Kiba?" Naruto asked. The dog barked in return, and they followed him out of the empty room.

* * *

There was Kiba, with four other people following close behind him.

"Hey! I found you guys!" The oblivious Inuzuka stated, "Did you kill the leader, Jubei?"

"Yes." Naruto said, trying to show off his armor nonchalantly. Kiba didn't seem to notice though, obviously his mind was on other things than his teammates change in wardrobe. Then, one of the hostages behind him spoke up. He was hidden from view by the others, and Naruto could not see his face.

"Your friends, Kiba?" Naruto recognized the voice immediately, and he hid beneath the shallow folds of his armor.

"Yeah, Sasuke! These are relatives of Naruto's!" Kiba's excitement was seriously starting to piss Naruto off. He sheathed his sword and lowered his head, the large horns of his Kabuto pointed above the heads of the hostages. He looked at Kiba's feet as he spoke.

"C'mon, we need to get going." The Inuzuka led the way, and Naruto waited until the last Hostage passed him before following. Naruto pondered as they walked, how did someone like Sasuke get stuck as a hostage at this place? But the way he walked next to Kiba resolved Naruto's doubt. Obviously he was just undercover as a hostage, and this was Kiba and Sasuke's mission from the start.

"Let's get these people home, and head back to Konoha." Sasuke said. Naruto's body recoiled slightly from the name of his home, and he jumped when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder armor.

"You okay?" Ringo asked. Naruto looked at her, and for the first time realized how much alike they looked. Well, she looked like him whenever he henged into a woman. He was surprised with himself for not noticing before, but then again, he did look at his father almost every day and never put two and two together. He nodded, and she patted him once more on the shoulder, before joining Akamaru at his side.

"Hey sweetie." She said, scratching him behind the ear as he squinted at her, his tongue hanging loose from his jaw.

Naruto looked down at his aching finger, he'd need to change the cloth bandage again soon.

"Don't let that get infected." Naruto hadn't noticed Sasuke drop back to his side. To his surprise, the Uchiha smiled at him.

"Naruto was my best friend," He said, "and anybody who shares blood with him, is a good man in my book."

He extended his hand hand, and Naruto shook it. He tried to smile, but his lips just wouldn't turn right, and his face came across as being half frown half smirk. The flash of confusion on Sasuke's face did not go unnoticed.

"Sorry," Naruto said, "I think I got my head busted up in that fight, I'm finding it hard to think."

"You sound like him," Naruto swallowed hard, "Naruto I mean."

"Oh?" Naruto almost tripped over his own feet, Sasuke caught him, "Sasuke, right?"

"Oh, man. I'm sorry I wasn't trying to be rude. Uchiha Sasuke, and your name is Jubei? Namikaze Jubei?"

"Yeah," Naruto lied.

"Yeah, that's my name." Lies felt bad now, it was different when it was he and Ringo, pretending to villagers and other strangers that they were brother and sister, but Sasuke was his friend.

He was more than that, Sasuke was his brother. He was lying to his brother's face. He felt sick, the pain in his finger returned.

And he was lying right in his brother's face.

"I'm sorry." He said compulsively. Sasuke must've assumed he was talking about his own death, for the boy nodded solemnly.

"You move on... no you don't, you never do. But life moves on, and you have to move with it I guess. Unless you're Sakura."

"Who?" Naruto asked, feeling sicker by the second.

"The love of Naruto's life, only she didn't love him back. Or so we thought anyway. I saw her the day they announced his death, it was like the world just fell out from under her." Sasuke's face twitched, "I feel like a dick because I agreed to this mission as soon as I could. I've been gone for almost a year now, I couldn't bare her sadness. I could't stand to stay, and I didn't want to leave, but I'd rather be away from Sakura... her sorrow just makes me want to die."

"I wish it had been me, instead of... you know." Sasuke's eyes were watery, but he took a congested sniff through his nostrils and blinked the water away, "I'm sorry, this is a good day. We broke up the kidnapping ring, months of work paid off, we're headed home, and I meet a new friend."

"Everything's happy, right Naruto?"

He was going to throw up, he was going to throw up. I'm going to throw up.

"What?"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"What'd you call me?"

"Jubei, of course... why?" Sasuke asked, there was something devilish about his smile. Something omniscient in the glint in his eyes.

"Nothing..." I think I may be sick, "I just heard you wrong." I'm going to throw up all over this armor.

"Okay. I'll talk to you again soon, okay?" He whispered the next few words, "I can't trust Kiba with remembering to chew before he swallows, if you know what I mean."

God, don't talk about food, he thought. He watched as Sasuke walked to the front to screw Kiba's head back in the right direction.

"It's this way dumb ass, didn't you study the map!"

God, don't talk about maps. He thought. I'm gonna lose my lunch, I'm gonna lose my map.

* * *

The gates of Konoha stood before them, and Naruto hadn't stop feeling sick the whole trip back. If his skin wasn't green, he sure felt like it was.

"Happy thought." Ringo as she and Akamaru passed him, walking straight into Konoha.

**"Kit...I need to speak with you." **The kyuubi spoke inside Naruto's mind, fear in his voice.

_'What's up?'_

**"You need to remain Jubei Namikaze for now."**

This was not the news Naruto had wished to hear.

_'Why?! Lying like this is torturous beyond words...'_

**"I'll explain soon enough...just humor me for now.**

"We can go in now Jubei, but you'll have to come with me and Kiba to visit the Hokage."

He could all but taste the vomit in his mouth.

"Um... sure." His voice cracked. Naruto disappeared in a flash, leaving Kiba and Sasuke confused.

* * *

"Yo!" Naruto said, flashing a peace-sign at the Hokage as her paperwork fell to the floor.

"Who... the... hell-" She looked up, and beheld the sight of a goofy looking blonde man in outdated armor, long horns extended from his red Kabuto, she was too distracted by his armor to look into his eyes. If she had, she might have censored her next comment.

"Who the fuck are you! Get the hell out of my office!" She stood up quickly, "Do you have any clue who I am, you clown-looking asshole?"

Naruto's eyes shot wide, then he realized he was still wearing his disguise. He pulled off his Kabuto, and pried away his face plate, revealing his famous whisker marks.

"Naruto!" She jumped over her desk and pulled him into a bone breaking hug.

Naruto sunk into the warmth of the hug, when she released him he bore a frown.

"Are you back for good?"

Naruto shook his head no.

"Jubei Namikaze is...Naruto's dead remember." He put his face plate back on, keeping his Kabuto under the crook of his arm. "The Kyubi said I need to keep under-cover, our trouble is far from over it seems."

Tsunade nodded grimly "So, why are you back then?"

"I helped Kiba and Sasuke with their mission, they're at the gates now, they should be in here soon."

The pressure from the hug made the blood from his finger flow freer, and it dripped out from under his bandage.

"Naruto you have to get that finger checked out. I'm going to go meet the boys, I'll have Shizune send up a nurse, okay?"

She patted Naruto on the cheek.

"Good to have you back kiddo."

Naruto stood in the Hokage's office alone, and nostalgia embraced him. It hadn't been that long since he stood here last, but he was under the guise of Tatsumaki. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Excuse me?"

The nurse I guess, he thought, not turning around.

"Shizune sent me up, would you follow me please?"

Naruto turned around smiling, but his heart stopped when he saw who would be fixing him up.

Sakura smiled sadly at him.

"Namikaze... uh, Jubei? She said your name was."

Naruto nodded more than he had to.

* * *

He tried staring into Sakura's eyes, but she would not meet his gaze. She moved about the room, pulling bandages from different drawers, and picking up and dropping various pieces of medical equipment. Then she closed the door.

"Sit here." She patted the hospital bed and Naruto pulled himself onto it. He put his Kabuto down next to him. She held out her hand, "Let me see that finger."

Naruto did as he was told. She pulled off the make-shift bandage, and revealed the skin that seemed to be hanging off the bone.

"Oh my god... who did this to you?"

She reached across a table and picked up a bottle of clear liquid. She poured it on the wound. It burned. Naruto cringed, but didn't say anything.

"How... how long have you been back?" She asked as she finished cleaning and wrapping the wound. She was still not looking at him.

"I... Haruno-san I'm not from around here-"

"Oh please cut the crap Naruto." She looked into his eyes. Hers were watering. He couldn't lie anymore, and in a sudden rush of the sickest feeling he had ever felt, he told the truth.

"... Oh god Sakura, I'm so sorry." As soon as the words left his mouth, the sickness left.

She threw herself at him, and he embraced her in a tight hug.


	5. Chapter 5

**Bit of a short chapter, enjoy.**

**Read and Review.**

**Chapter 5**

**A Promise to the Death**

Naruto buried his face into Sakura's shoulder. He was trying really hard not to cry, and he groaned uncomfortably. Her arms tightened across his back, pulling him closer and closer to her. He found it hard to breathe, not from the closeness of the hug, but from the built up emotion, which was struggling to release itself. The relief from finally telling the truth washed over him in almost tidal proportions, but his crippling guilt still remained. He sought solace in the hug, and neither he nor Sakura planned to release one another anytime soon.

"You don't have to explain anything to me yet. Not yet." She said, her voice shaky with emotion, "I'm just so glad you're back... I'm so glad I was right."

Naruto didn't say anything, but he sighed deeply into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." He said at last, when he had finally regained the courage to speak. He shook as he spoke, pushing her away and pulling her back in, in one fluid motion. He readjusted his hold on her, and melted into her embrace.

Then the door creaked open, and they broke the hug. Before Kiba could see what had been happening, they both assumed the position of doctor and patient.

"It'll heal, but I wouldn't go flailing that hand around recklessly for the next couple of days." Sakura advised. Naruto nodded, but he was still greatly affected by what had just taken place. He cleared his throat.

"Okay." He said.

"Jubei? Oh, hey Sakura. Jubei, the Hokage wants us to be de-briefed. You want to come with me? Your sister is waiting for us."

Sakura flashed Naruto a suspicious glare, and raised an eyebrow that almost seemed to ask, "Sister?". Naruto shrugged in a way that almost seemed to proclaim, "I'm in deep shit."

"I'm coming Kiba." Naruto dropped from the tall hospital bed, and flexed his wounded finger under the still-white bandage. Kiba left through the door, and Naruto mouthed to Sakura,

"Come with me?"

She smiled in a way that almost seemed to promise, "Always."

* * *

"Ramen?" Sakura asked kindly. The debriefing had taken longer than expected, and everyone had worked up an apetite. Kiba had promised the Namikazes a tour of the village, and Sakura had volunteered to join them. Of course all she really wanted was some time alone with Naruto, to settle all this nonsense.

And maybe do one or two other things, she thought to herself. What? She blushed, Where did that come from?

Ah, who the hell was she kidding? Of course she wanted Naruto, being apart from him had only cemented that fact. She was almost certain that he loved her still as well, but fear and other roadblocks were preventing her from taking him into an empty room and kissing him until he passed out. Her blush deepened.

"I could go for a bowl right now." Kiba said, rubbing Akamaru behind the ears, "Namikaze, Ringo? What do you guys think?"

"Nothing like a good bowl of ramen." Naruto feigned about a tenth of his actual excitement, wary that his love for ramen was a question of nurture rather than nature.

"Sure." Ringo chimed in.

"Ichiraku?"

"That may not be too good of an idea." Sakura said, careful with her choice in words. If the staff at Naruto's favored ramen stand didn't recognize him from his looks, they certainly would by his appetite, "Let's go to the estate, I have plenty of ramen there."

"Estate?" Naruto asked, genuinely puzzled.

"The Namikaze compund, you-uh... well, Naruto left me his home in his will, turned out that he had inherited the Namikaze estate, I'll give it back if you guys want it! But, I've been living in it for a while now."

"Well then." Naruto looked down at his shadow, his horns made him look monstrous. He frowned. "I won't take it from you, and Ringo won't either."

"I never-"

"Ringo won't either." Naruto said, glaring at his "sister", "But it would be nice if we could stay in a guest room or something, until we can find other lodging."

"Ringo can stay with me!" Kiba offered, his grin as stupid as it was large.

"You can both stay with me," Sakura ignored Kiba, "But there are several smaller houses on the estate, you won't need to stay in a guest room... though if you want to be closer to me, you're welcome to stay in the main building."

Sakura was staring straight at Naruto when she spoke, and the boy found his face getting rather warm. He looked to the grown, dropping out of his beloved's gaze. For some reason, he felt incredibly passionate out of nowhere. It took him a few moments to realize he was feeling Sakura's emotions through their bond. That shocked him all the more, and he stared at the ground dumbly.

"Um... is that okay?" Sakura asked, and Naruto felt the fear through their bond. She was of course worried that his silence had ment hesitance, and that his hesitance had meant reluctance, and that his reluctance meant that he did not share her feelings. She was wrong of course, on all counts, but how could Naruto tell her, in front of Kiba?

"No! That sounds great Sakura-chan." Fuck, "I mean Haruno-san." You're digging the hole deeper Uzumaki, "I mean Namikaze."

What the fuck are you doing you meat-headed shit-sack?

The others stared at him in confusion, probably thinking along the same lines.

"I mean yes Haruno-san, we would be honored to temporarily live in our ancestor's estate with you."

"Great! Now I'll go get the ramen started while Kiba shows you around. Show up in about fifteen minutes ago?" She beamed, "Kiba, don't be late."

"Aye-aye." He saluted to her back as she walked away. The past few moments of time spent with Sakura had rekindled his familiarity with her company almost immediately, and now that she had left even if only for a few minutes, he was deeply affected by her absence.

"I'm going with her." Naruto said, his voice cracking. Sakura stopped and turned around, her breath caught in her throat.

"Um, all right." Kiba said reluctantly, "Just don't do anything stupid Jubei, your cousin had quite the crush on that girl."

Naruto shook slightly and rolled his tongue under the tips of his teeth.

"Yeah, duh. Don't worry Kiba, I just am really anxious to see the estate." He lied, "Ringo, why don't you keep Kiba company for now?"

The ploy worked, and Kiba became completely distracted by his infatuation with Ringo. The last living lady Namikaze however, was not very pleased.

"Happy thought." Naruto mouthed to a sulking Ringo before throwing her a wink.

"C'mon!" Sakura impatiently grabbed Naruto by his wounded hand, causing the boy to seethe in anguish as she pulled him towards the compound.

"Happy thought!" Ringo screamed as he left, chuckling at his pain.

When she had dragged him halfway across Konoha, and deep enough into the forest that no one could hear them, she let go of his hand, and realized hers was covered in blood.

"Oops." She said, as if she was asking him if it were an appropriate method for an apology.

"OW!" Naruto yelled, applying slow pressure to his finger with his other hand as the blood flowed freely, "It wasn't bleeding this much before!"

"I know, you need stitches. I completely forgot because of you coming back and all." She patted him on the cheek, "Come inside, I'll fix you up."

Naruto blushed under her hand and for a moment they stood silent in the forest, the slow falling leaves descended around them, touching the ground in crisp, muffled sounds. The world was absent from them, only they existed in each other's eyes.

* * *

"I would like some answers now too, if you don't mind." Sakura cut the thread above the knot, and wrapped Naruto's finger in a fresh layer of gauze.

"Well, for starters..." Naruto felt the sick feeling climbing back up his chest, "I was Tatsumaki."

"What?"

"You know the anbu guy-"

"Yes I know! That just doesn't make much sense."

"I know it doesn't-"

"Why would you frame yourself? Why all that deception-I don't understand?" Sakura was getting a bit emotional.

"I can't tell you right now... but I'll explain everything eventually, I promise. The safest thing for both of us was for me to disappear for awhile, when the opportunity arose to fake my own death, I reluctantly took it. I regret doing so more than you know, but it was the only way to protect Konoha. To protect you."

He cleared his throat, waiting for Sakura to reply. For some time she remained silent, offering a slight nod as her eyes watered. She looked up at Naruto, and offered him a slight smile, but she couldn't keep eye contact for long.

"I'm sorry for trying to kill you."

"Yeah, that wasn't very cool of you." Naruto chuckled, and Sakura's smile deepened.

"You deserved it though!" She finally laughed.

"... I love you." He said abruptly, and quieter than he wanted to. At first he thought she didn't hear him, then he saw a tear roll down her cheek, "I'm sorry. God I'm so sorry. I can leave if you want."

He stood up and made a move to leave, but before he could grab the door handle, he felt two arms wrap around him from behind, and warm tears soaked his back.

"Don't go! I love you too." She was hiccuping, "I-hic- love you too. I love yo so much."

Naruto balanced himself with his good hand on the doorframe, and let Sakura cry into his back. He didn't have the strength to turn around.

"I love you forever. I prom-hic-promise. I'll love you until I-hic-die."

"Stop."

"Wh-hic-why?" She cried more aggressively

"Sakura." He finally turned around, resting his forehead against Sakura's shaking one, "Don't you ever say that again. Don't you ever mention your death to me, ever."

She nodded.

"You're going to live forever okay? Promise me that."

"I-hic-Naruto-"

"Promise me, Sakura."

"I-hic-I... promise."

"Thank you." He grabbed her above the waist and pulled her into the air, burying his face into her wild pink hair, "Thank you so much."

The doorbell rang, and it startled them both.

* * *

"Guys, we're going to have to worry about that ramen later, there's a massive disturbance outside the village that Tsunade needs all available anbu to attend to." Kiba stood in the doorway, all of his anbu gear on but his mask. Sakura nodded to him.

"Anbu?" Naruto asked, and though he meant to praise Sakura for her acceptance into anbu, Kiba naturally mistook his question for ignorance.

"They're the elite black ops group of shinobi that help protect the village. You're welcome to come help if you want Jubei, but Ringo elected to stay behind."

"I'll help." Naruto said bravely. He stepped out of the doorway and followed Kiba out of the estate, Sakura quickly caught up to them, her anbu uniform almost completely disguising her.

But let's be honest, Naruto thought, who else has hair that beautiful?

* * *

Just outside the village of Konoha, a monster was waiting. He was black, a strange dark substance oozed from every pore on his body. Filthy appendages extended from his body, and they swirled around him, destroying anything in his path. To make matters worse, he was gigantic, and Uchiha Sasuke was standing right under him.

"Move!" A masked Kakashi shouted from behind him, and Sasuke listened. He leapt sideways, and rolled, landing right in front of an Anbu he recognized as Sakura, and the one and only Namikaze Naruto.

He meant Jubei, of course.

"Hey guys, come to help?"

"More or less." Sakura answered.

"Well thank goodness you're here," Sasuke stopped smiling, "We have two dead, and three wounded."

Sakura nodded and ran off toward the other anbu, planning to put her medical skills to good use.

"Well I think this is the first time we've been alone since the mission." Sasuke said, not noticing the tendril that was slicing toward him. Naruto grabbed him, and flashed them both to safety.

"Ah, I wondered how that would feel... I'm a little disoriented, but that was pretty easy to handle. Teach me?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Not possible, sorry."

"That's okay, Naruto."

"What?"

"I said that's fine, Jubei." Sasuke winked at Naruto. Revelation rampant.

"You... you know?"

"I knew since you brought her back to the village, your voice slipped. At first I thought you were just mocking Naruto for some cruel reason, but that was just anger. I worked it out on the way back, Tatsumaki. I mean Jubei. I mean, brother." Sasuke extended his hand, which Naruto willingly took.

"I didn't do a very good job hiding my tracks did I?"

"Naruto, you'd need more than a metal plate on your cheeks and giant horns to hide from these eyes." They smiled at each other. Then a slimy tentacle wrapped around Naruto and pulled him off the ground.

He was pulled infront of a twirling mass of black flesh, which opened slowly to reveal a ravaged yellow eye.

_"The Kyuubi will be freed!"_

Naruto rushed his body with chakra and exploded out of the large tentacle, ripping it to shreds. He fell to the ground with an incredible force, shattering the earth below him. He stood up quickly, and was alone. Using Kurama's sense of smell he picked up on a familiar chakra signal.

"Hyuga!" He called, and shorty after he spied in anbu a ways away.

The anbu Naruto recognized as Neji turned around.

"Where is its chakra emiting from?"

Neji stared at the beast for several moments, then turned and spoke.

"The distorted area of flesh in the beast's center."

"The eye!" Naruto sheathed his sword and flashed to the side of Sakura. "C'mere!"

Naruto grabbed Sakura and pulled her close, and in a flash they were in an abandoned cave.

"Wait here..."

He left the shocked Sakura in the cave, and flashed back to the battlefield.

Naruto flashed back and forth continuously, and soon, all the anbu were in the cave as well.

"What are we doing!" The anbu Naruto recognized as the one and only Rock Lee spoke, "We need to be out there fighting!"

"You mean out there dying?" Naruto stepped forward, "We need a plan!"

Neji spoke up.

"He is right." The other anbu glared at him, "Going in there like mad dogs will not help anyone."

Naruto nodded.

"Where is your squad leader?" He asked.

Neji turned to Sakura, who was healing one anbu in particular. He had a single sharingan eye.

Naruto knelt beside Hatake Kakashi

"Will he be alright?" He asked Sakura.

She ignored him and continued to pump chakra into Kakashi's body.

Suddenly the cave shook.

"COME OUT AND FACE ME MORTALS!" A gravely distorted voice that seemed to come from underwater called through the cave walls.

Naruto looked at the Anbu squad, more than half were his friends. He didn't know the two that were dead but they were still kinsman in the eyes of the future Hokage. He wouldn't let any more blood be spilled.

"Forget it. He's after me, I'll take him down."

Naruto unsheathed his sword.

"What do you mean he's after you!?" Kiba asked.

"I can't explain now... if I don't come back, Sasuke will."

"You can't go alone!" Sakura finally said, "He can't be stopped."

Naruto drew a kunai with his other hand.

"Stay here, all of you. Don't come out 'till we're dead." Naruto walked toward the mouth of the cave.

**'You can do this kit. I have faith in you.'**

_'I know.'_

The last Namikaze made the hand-sign for his favorite jutsu, and dozens of him appeared just outside the cave. He and his duplicates charged at the demon, many of the clones were destroyed instantly by the tentacles.

Yet they pressed onward, and as their numbers were cut down Naruto sheathed his sword.

_'I'll need to rip open his eyelid.'_

**'You haven't gotten rusty have you?"**

Naruto began to gather chakra in his hand, a clone ran next to him, but was destroyed by a tentacle.

"DAMN!" Naruto dropped the kunai from his left hand and tried to control the chakra.

**'C'mon kit focus.'**

Naruto closed his eyes and the world slowed down around him. He felt each pulse of air as he pushed it down into the orb, until finally he had full control. He opened his eyes, and the world returned to normal speed.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto slammed the chakra ball into the monster's eye ripping in to shreds and bringing forth a liquid-like black smoke, that covered the battlefield and blinded him. When the fluid smoke cleared, Naruto didn't find himself on the battle-field, but in a valley filled with cherry blossom trees. A waterfall roared to his left, filling a stream that outlined the perimeter.

"Naruto?"

Naruto turned around quickly, but could not find the source of the voice.

"Naruto?" It was feminine and soft, and seemed to come from all around him.

"Naruto?" It was Sakura's voice, he was sure of it.

Naruto reached for his sword, but it was gone. "DEMON, RELEASE ME!"

"There must be some way out of here!" He yelled over the calling voice of Sakura, "Kurama!"

Silence penetrated his mind scape, dark, sucking, silence.

"KURAMA!"

Still, only silence.

"shit." He sat down, and began to focus chakra. Sakura's voice grew louder and louder, making it hard to concentrate. Then, her words changed.

"N-n-n-a-a-r-r-u-t-t-t-o-o? G-g-e-e-t-t-t u-u-u-p!" It was skipping like a dirty record.

"W-w-w-w-a-a-ake up!" Naruto's hearing and vision returned in a swopping rush, and he found himself staring into magnificent jade eyes.

"You're awake!" Sakura said, her eyes watery, "Guys, he's awake!"

Naruto sat up slowly, running his fingers through his blonde hair. His Kabuto was in Sakura's lap, along with the Namikaze ninjato. He extended his hand, and she passed both to him.

"Thanks... I was stuck in some sort of-"

"Genjutsu." Kakashi said, Naruto was happy to see the man alive and well, albeit shirtless, and bandaged around his chest, "We broke it with relative ease, but you've been out of it for a few hours, so expect some grogginess."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said without thinking. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sure thing, Jubei." Kakashi winked and pointed a finger at his sharingan, then he slid his mask back over his face, "We got a lot of clean up to do here. Sakura, why don't you take our friend back inside, you guys can report to the Hokage, and get some well needed rest."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, bowing her head slightly.

"No problem... and Jubei?" Kakashi started walking away, "Welcome back."

Kakashi joined the other anbu, and they began burning all evidence of the now dead monster from the field.

"You ready to go?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and in a golden flash, they disappeared.

**More to come soon, just wanted to end this one kind of cleanly. The next chapter will pertain to the revelation of the people chasing Naruto, for those who haven't read the original, and are curious as to who they are.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**The Misadventures of Lee and Tenten, and the legend of the Demon Court.**

Lee sat slumped against a gargoyle, his anbu mask shielding his face. He held a bottle of sake in one hand, his sword in the other. This was his night for guard duty, and boy did he hate it.

Lee wasn't the kinda guy who liked to sit down for long periods of time, in fact he'd prefer to be on the move at all times. However, he was simply guarding the front gate, no need to pace from one side of the wall to the other because he got a perfect view of the gate from the gargoyle he was propped up against.

The only good thing about guard duty was Tenten.

"Hey, Lee?"

And even she was starting to get old.

"Yes, Tenten?"

"I just heard some of the newbie guards over there chatting."

Lee shook his head.

"We do not punish conversation Tenten."

"No it's not that...they said...they said they saw Naruto."

Lee's eyes went wide under his mask.

"THATS IMPOSSIBLE!" Lee yelled.

Tenten bopped him on the head.

"Shhhhh!" Tenten turned her head away from Lee, "It's probably just a rumor after all."

"GAHHH!"

Lee and Tenten shot up at the yell, and they ran over quickly to see the anbu who were guarding the opposite wall dead.

"What?" Lee brandished his sword and drowned his bottle of sake. He was instantly affected by the potent drink, "Tenten, you look so 'hic' pretty this morning."

She ignored her intoxicated teammates comment.

"LEE!" Behind he a man with a chain whip appeared, Tenten barley had time to yell before the man swung.

Lee easily dodged the attack and whipped around to swing his sword lazily into his enemy's face.

The man fell as Lee's sword split his skull. The man's skin peeled away at the wound, and ripped from the body. As Lee and Tenten watched, the flesh reassembled itself into the shape of a human, and flew away.

"Who the hell was that?"

Lee pointed an accusing finger at Tenten.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

Tenten shook her head.

"I am going to get the Hokage...will you please stay here?"

"I 'hic' will do what I want and nothing less!"

Tenten grabbed Lee by the collar and kissed him.

Lee stared up at her lazily.

"Will you stay here?"

Lee nodded in rapid succsession as Tenten took off toward the Hokage tower.

**THE NEXT DAY.**

Naruto awoke on a warm bed. It was weird, but apart from his time spent trapped, unconscious, in the monster's genjutsu, he couldn't remember the last time he had slept. Rubbing his face with his hands, he tried to wipe any remaining reasons to stay in bed from his mind. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, and just kind of numbly stared at everything in the room.

Like Kakashi had warned, Naruto had felt extremely groggy after he and Sakura returned to the estate, and had excused himself to lie down, while his head sorted itself out. At some point he fell asleep, and looking at the alarm clock next to the bed, he had been at it for four hours.

He cursed himself silently for sleeping so long, then threw himself out of the bed. The grogginess from the genjutsu had passed, but the grogginess from the nap was just beginning, and Naruto stumbled into a wall. He threw his hands out before his head made contact, but he stared at the wall all the same, as if it had been responsible for his fall.

He grumbled and pushed off the wall, standing himself up straight and balancing his sleep sedated body. He suddenly realized how uncomfortable his armor was, and began taking it off.

He stood in his shinobi outfit, minus the long sleeved shirt, which he had removed. His black t-shirt underneath revealed how often his arms had seen the sun in the past few months, and it frightened him a little bit. He was naturally pretty dark, but the difference between his hands and his arms was almost night in day.

He needed to go to the beach or something. He did love the ocean.

A knock on the door.

"Come in."

Sakura opened the door and stepped into the guest room, a bowl of hot ramen in her hands.

"Hey."

"Hi." She said smiling.

Taking a nap made him feel like someone had taken out his brain and put it back in backwards. He wasn't really sure what to say, and after he said it he wasn't really sure if he had.

"Nice weather today."

"Haha, you bet." She said, her smile heart-stopping in its beauty. He wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her on the side of the head.

"I wasn't sleeping you know."

"Really?" She mumbled, "Then what do you call that?"

"I was just, resting. I was resting." He rocked her back and forth, rising to the tips of his toes as he moved from right to left, "I told you I loved you already, right?"

"No? You do?" She was lying, or he thought she was. Or he knew she was but thought she wasn't. He needed to wake up.

"I hate repeating myself." He grabbed the ramen from her and sat back on the bed.

"Don't stain the sheets!" She yelled, causing a look of utter defiance to be thrown in her direction.

"These are my family's sheets. My dead relatives probably slept on these sheets. Do you really think I would soil their memory by-"

The doorbell rang, and Naruto jumped, spilling ramen broth over the sheets. Probably staining them.

"Damn." He said. Sakura only laughed at him.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura found themselves standing before the Hokage, a very serious expression on her face.

"I suppose you want me to explain what that big monster lookin' thing was, eh?"

"I also would like to know what you were doing alone with my protege."

Naruto couldn't resist.

"Instructing her." He winked and received a hard elbow from his pink haired companion, "Ow!"

Tsunade's right eyebrow raised, half in disbelief, half in anger.

"I wasn't doing anything Baa-chan! Me and Sakura-chan were just-"

"Um, Namikaze Jubei, what did you just call me?" Tsunade said, warning Naruto.

"She knows Baa-chan, take it easy."

"You told her?!"

"No, she found out!"

"Wait, you weren't going to tell me?" Now Sakura was angry too, bad news for our hero.

"I couldn't, it was too dangerous! We've been over this!" No one spoke for some time, "Now... let me explain what's been going on."

And they waited patiently as he did.

"I don't understand Naruto," Sakura asked once he had finished, "Who were you hiding from? Why create the ruse of Tatsumaki, steal the ninjato, and fake your death?"

"Kurama warned me of something... something terrible, hidden... something that had been reawakened after the last war. The legendary Demon Court, of Demon Mountain.

**Far, far away, on the edges of the known Earth, yet also close, very close, the legendary Demon Mountain.**

High above the clouds above Devil's Peak, a lone crow circled. He was huge, monstrous in size and charcoal in color. His feathers were greasy, and ruffled, and his eye's glowed demonically. His name was Sogetsu Kagura, and he was one of 99 demons that made up the Demon's Court.

He transformed into a humanoid shape, and dropped several hundred feet down, landing gracefully onto the tip of the mountain. His hair was black, like his feathers, and his coat was too. His hands were like talons, his teeth like fangs, and his eyes were still red.

_"Ah... Sogetsu, you've made it."_ A misshapen woman addressed him from a rock. He smiled at her, and carried on.

He was one of the founders of the Demon Court, one of the original nine, founded some three hundred years ago, when the Kyubi was at its strongest.

He continued into the bowels of the mountain, through narrow hallways and cavernous pits, past labyrinths and torture chambers, until he reached the main hall, where at times, ninety nine demons would meet. And god help whoever they met for.

Tonight, as usual, it was one Uzumaki Naruto, who for some time had been feared dead. Not that the whole court didn't want him dead, they all did, but in order for him to die, the Kyubi would have to first be released. It was the only way to free the Demon King.

When the court was founded, the nine were just men. Over the years they devoted more and more of their life-forces to worshiping the nine-tails, and they ultimately became his unwanted underlings. His power made them true demons.

They all weeped tears of blood when they thought their master had been slain with his mortal cage, but news had reached them that the Uzumaki still lived, and they redoubled their efforts to reclaim their king.

Their last attempt, had been an awful failure. They had to drop their numbers down to 98, a suitable replacement was called for.

The meeting went quickly, and the new recruit was decided upon, Sogetsu himself volunteered to find him.

If he accepted, good. If he declined the offer, heaven help him.

Sogetsu loved it when they declined.

* * *

High up in the mountains on the borders the fire country, a lone fire illuminated the night sky. The fire was not out of the ordinary, traveling vagabonds used the mountains caves for shelter during the rain season. What was peculiar, if not downright disturbing, was the scene that was unfolding around the flames. A tall spindly man was twirling a sword made of sharpened human fore-arm in his right hand. In his left hand, a large hook made of a whale's ribs glistened in the light of the fire. To the people of the fire country, he was a myth... a dark figure used to scare children. To the monsters of the demon court, he was very real.

"What do you want from me now?"

The man spoke, still twirling his blade in his hand. A bird that was pecking at grain in the distance turned it's head.

"You can't fool me with illusions, I understand the power of demon's, and your power taints the air around you."

The bird took three hops toward the man, his feathers falling off as he did so. The bird turned it's head, and it twisted all the way around his body, stretching upward, and upward. Until at last a dark form of a man stood where the bird once did.

"Sogetsu, good to see you again."

**"We seek your aid once more dark one..." **Kagura smiled behind his crooked teeth.

"About time, I was getting bored of raping and pillaging... I'm due for some good old fashion slaughter!"

**"The one we seek is Uzumaki Naruto. He resides in the village hidden in the leaves. He is the current container of the Kyubi no Mono, the demon king of the mountain."**

"I suppose you want me to rip the old fox out of Uzumaki?"

**"Precisely, do you accept?"**

"Of course, I will get your king back... I'll rip him out of Uzumaki... nice and slow."

**"There is one condition," **Sogetsu began, **"You must become a member of the demon court, to balance our numbers."**

Sogetsu licked his lips as the man debated his answer, there was no denying how good looking he was. His dark blonde hair, dull lifeless blue eyes, his sinewy figure. Sogetsu was so hoping he'd refuse, he would do a great many things to this man.

"Fine then, but I won't stick around for long, as soon as you get another hopeful, I'm gone. I'm not all for this teamwork business."

Sogetsu nodded, only partially dismayed. Being alive for centuries taught you patience, and he knew there would be another chance for him to emotionally and physically eviscerate this man.

**"Fare thee well, Tendril."** Sogetsu vanished in an explosion of feathers. Leaving Tendril alone on the mountain. He kicked out the fire, and pulled from the ashes a mask made of pure bone. While it was still hot, he put it one his face.

**KONOHA.**

Naruto and Sakura sat beside each other on a bench in the Hokage's office. The news had been delivered quite well, and Tsunade thought it best that a strike force be assembled, to combat the threat. Naruto had disagreed utterly, but there was no denying the Hokage while she was in the room, and he wanted to re-meet his friends so he let her 'assemble' them at once.

Afterwards he would face the Demons alone, before anyone could help him. If he died, good. If they released Kurama, he would kill them all and remain a force for good, and if he survived then... well he hadn't planned that far ahead.

Sakura wrapped her arm around his, and leaned her head into his shoulder. She was scared, and Naruto knew it. He had yet had time to really explain their new bond and it's positive affects on their relationship.

Relationship. He liked the sound of that. He could sense she was feeling his warmth through the bond, and his heart picked up.

She pulled at his chin so he was staring straight into her jade eyes, then met his lips with a kiss.

"You guys are so sweet." Tsunade looked on them with adoring eyes.

Naruto flashed the Hokage a thumbs up through the kiss, and Sakura bopped him on the head.

"Ow!" He said, gently rubbing the spot where she had 'playfully' hit him.

"Sorry, I don't know my own strength." She held up her hands apologetically.

Naruto stood dejected.

Then the door opened. And Hatake Kakashi walked in.

Kakashi pulled Naruto into a warming hug. He pushed him away and held him at arms length.

"You look just like your dad."

Naruto smiled and scratched his head.

Naruto sat back down next to Sakura, Kakashi smiled at the two. Sakura leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder.

"So you two are...?"

Sakura blushed and nodded at her sensei. Kakashi chuckled lightly, and then took a seat next to them.

Tsunade sat at her desk, smiling at the three.

"Sorry for thinking you were crazy, Sakura."

"That's okay, you'll just have to owe me one."

Then the door opened, and Hinata's team (with the addition of Ringo) walked in.

Naruto's eyes fell on Hinata's body, and he couldn't help but stare. Then he felt a burning pain, as Sakura's fingers bit into the flesh on his thigh.

"Remember Naruto, you belong to me..."

Naruto turned to Sakura, and in a primitive act of affection, he licked her cheek. She blushed wildly.

"Good boy..."

Hinata faltered as she saw Naruto's face.

"N-n-N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto stood up and crossed his arms, throwing his former classmates a goofy smile.

"Hey guys!"

Kiba scratched his head, unsure of what was happening. Ringo sighed.

"You and your theatrics Naruto, I swear." She said, as Kiba finally caught on.

"This whole time, you were- Jubei and Naruto are- you aren't dead?!"

Naruto flashed him a thumbs up, and then noticed that her and Kiba's hands were Uzumaki chuckled, then sat back down next to Sakura, throwing an arm around her. In the past few months he had obtained a cousin, and she was already dating one of his good friends. Women.

"Well, well, Ringo." He said, matter-of-factly.

"What? I like his dog." She kissed the Inuzuka on the cheek.

Tsunade nodded at the shinobi.

"If you would all please take a seat, once the rest get here, we can begin the meeting."

The ninja all sat down, with Hinata taking a seat next to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I-I-I'm so glad that you're alive."

Naruto smiled at her.

"Thanks Hinata, I'm glad you're alive too."

Naruto turned back toward the door as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji walked in.

They all shared shock and greeted Naruto, apologized for doubting Sakura's sanity, hugged, and then took their seats beside the other shinobi.

Tsunade shuffled the papers on her desk, and then cleared her throat.

"Now, there is only one team we're waiting on, when they get here we can start..."

The door opened creakily, and Lee walked through slowly, his head in his hands.

Tsunade recognized a hangover the instant she saw one, and smiled at Lee's pain.

_'That'll teach him to drink sake without my permission!'_

"GOOD MORNING LEE!"

Lee clenched his hair in his hands and groaned. Tenten followed behind him and bowed to the Hokage, Neji then entered behind her.

"Good, now that everyone is here we can start the meeting." Tsunade placed her chin in her hands and cleared her throat, "It is time for us to be rid of this demon court."


	7. Chapter 7

**Another slightly shorter chapter.**

**WARNING: The following content is slightly graphic, and may disturb some younger viewers. Discretion is advised.**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter Seven**

**Unrequited Brutality and Quadrophenia**

The monster known as Tendril caressed the cheek of his hostage. She was young, pretty in the modern sense of the world, feisty, and most importantly foolish.

Tendril had spotted her hugging Haruno Sakura when they had left the Hokage's office. Her attachment to Naruto's girlfriend made her the perfect bait. He made sure to completely destroy her apartment after kidnapping her, and had left a note with nothing written on it but his location. It might take them a while, but someone would find him eventually. And Tendril was certain the Uzumaki would be the one who did.

He had approached her in public, knowing full well how attractive he was to most women. He sized her up in an instant. Here was a young woman, who probably loved bad boys as a child, who probably still did. She probably thought she was somewhat on the wild side. A free spirit. A little crazy, maybe a bit naughty.

He liked that, he liked women who thought they liked bad boys. One thing was for certain, she had never met anyone as near as bad as him.

After a nice lunch she had invited him to her home, where he surprised her by knocking her unconscious. He tied her up, took her into the woods, and there they were now.

"unhhh.." She moaned softly, slowly regaining her wits.

What was her name again?

"W-where am I?" She asked, blindfolded.

Oh yeah, Ino. Tendril reached forward and pulled off her blindfold. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, and the horrendous figure who stood before her.

When he had taken her to dinner, Tendril had been in disguise, but now he stood before her in all his malevolent glory. His sinewy figure seemed to wrap around its own frame, his blue eyes lifeless behind a mask.

"Hello." He cackled. She screamed. His gloved hand moved quickly to her mouth, "Now why would you go and do that? I haven't even touched you yet."

He looked down at his hand, clamped firmly over her mouth, and pulled it back.

"Whoops."

"Who are you?!" She asked, her ninja training betraying her. There was no possible way to stay calm in front of Tendril. He had that effect on people, the minute they beheld him, all their courage left them. He could sweep even the bravest off their feet.

He leaned into her face, and pulled off his mask. She gasped.

"You shouldn't talk to strangers Ino. They could very likely be psychopaths." He grabbed her chin with one hand, and pushed his other hand's thumb into her cheekbone. He spread open her mouth, and stuck his tongue inside, running it between her teeth and her lips. He felt her muscles tense as she tried to bite down, but his fingers were stronger than her jaw. She was helpless. He pushed his lips further into hers, and aggressively kissed her as she struggled to pull away.

She was tied up to a tree.

After several minutes she began to cry, and her tears ran down her face, lubricating the space between her cheeks and Tendril's fingers. His hold on her slipped, and she bit down, but he had already pulled out of her mouth.

"Wow." He said, feigning shock, "You do realize that was supposed to be the pleasant part?"

Tendril drew his whale-bone hook from its holster on his back, and repositioned his left hand on Ino's face.

"Now hold still." He was holding back demented laughter.

Taking the tip of the hook, he held it centimeters away from Ino's face. She tried to shy away from the blade, but he pushed her head back into the tree, dazing her.

"I said hold still." He slowly stabbed the finest tip of the hook into the thickest patch of flesh on her cheek, and slowly moved it toward her nose. The blade was dull, and the skin seemed to rip from a seam as he brought the tip along.

Ino was in too much shock to scream, her eyes just stared wide open. Tendril threw his hook to the ground, and starting lapping at the wound, drinking her blood. The pain seared her.

When she started to squirm again, he pushed her head back into the tree and pulled her right eye-lid far apart. He stuck out his blood-stained tongue, and licked her pupil gently.

Her lips were quivering.

He let her close her eye, and she blinked rapidly. He pushed her head back, so that her chin stuck in the air and her pale throat was exposed.

"Now, for the really fun part!"

Ino could do nothing but stare as Tendril picked up his sickly hook and held it high above his head.

"No!" Naruto appeared from the trees, and tackled Tendril, knocking his hook to the ground.

"Uzumaki, I presume." Tendril rolled up, and drew his fore-arm blade from it's holster.

Naruto said nothing, his sword was already drawn.

"Oh, not in the mood to talk are you?" Tendril drew his sword, "It's not every day a close friend get's violated and almost killed is it? Nice armor by the way. Dig the horns."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. His voice sounded half-dead, but full of anger.

"My name is Tendril, and the demon court recruited me to rip that thing out of your stomach." He pulled his mask on, "But between you and me, I'm just gonna kill you, it'll be more fun that way."

Naruto charged for Tendril, swinging his sword like a mad man, but to Naruto's surprise Tendril disappeared into a purple cloud of smoke.

"Hey pretty boy!" Naruto turned around to see Tendril, twirling his bone hook and sword around in around like a deadly twisted windmill, "Let's have some fun!"

The fight began in an explosion of sparks. Steel clashed with bone as the two twirled around each other, slicing and parrying, slashing and dodging. Then, Tendril began to sing.

"A glorious fight, with swords clashing left and right!"

Naruto thrusted, and his sword was batted aside. He dodged as Tendril swung his hook.

"Soon, you'll be dead, and I'll paint your village red!"

Naruto leapt up and flipped, landing on the other side of Tendril. The bone of Tendril's hook's pommel hit the Uzumaki square in the back of the head, knocking him into a roll.

"With blood, of course."

Naruto teleported himself at Tendril's feet, and swung his legs, knocking the demon over. Tendril landed hard on his back, then kicked Naruto hard in the ribs, breaking several.

"Gah!" The Namikaze groaned in intense pain.

"Ouch, that kinda looked like it hurt a lot." Tendril thrust his sword downward as he stood up, stabbing Naruto in the back, "Does this make it any worse?"

Naruto's eyes and mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, such an intense feeling of pain he had not felt in years. He could feel the battle drawing to a close, his energy failing him, if he didn't do something now, he would die.

Happy thought, his mind filled with images of Sakura, she spoke,

"You can do this. I love you."

Summoning all his courage and strength, Naruto spun up from the ground. As he rolled, it tore Tendril's blade from his body. He thrust the Namikaze Ninjato into the demon's chest.

"Huh." Tendril said. Before he died, he grabbed the Namikaze by the arms, and kissed him on the lips. Naruto pulled away, spitting and cussing as the man fell to the ground. Suddenly, he started to feel faint, and fell along side his opponent. Four ninja dropped down around them.

"Naruto!" Naruto's vision grew hazy, he was slipping, soon he would die and leave his Sakura forever, he only wished that she was hear with him. Whatever it was Kakashi had to say wasn't important.

"Naruto..." He felt Tsunade lift him up with her strong arms, he just wanted to fall down, let death overtake him...

"Please!" Shizune, always caring. He doesn't want help, he doesn't need help, he just needs to...

**'Goodbye kit... it's been fun.'**

Suddenly a flooding of hope filled Naruto's soul. Sakura was nearby, and her heart was pounding with love. Love that could keep Naruto alive. She dropped down beside him, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Wake up you idiot! If you fall asleep, you'll die!"

Oh, but no he wouldn't. With Sakura's passion fueling his soul, he could live for another thousand years. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was no longer with his friends.

Naruto stood in his vast open mindscape. He looked down at his hands, and realized his armor was gone, then he looked back up. The view had changed, where once stood a large cage to hold back the Kyubi, now stood a small familiar tree, with a swing hanging from it's strongest limb. Naruto walked slowly toward the tree, but he never seemed to get any closer... It was then that he realized he was not alone.

In the distance stood a man in Anbu uniform, a black fox mask covered his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The man's voice was cool and calm, but it rang with a sense of monotone humor, "Haruno Sakura will be pleased to know that I have located you."

"Sakura? Where is she?" Naruto walked over to the masked man, but as he did the familiarity of the man finally hit him, "Wait... you're Tatsumaki!"

"Yes Uzumaki Naruto, I am the anbu assigned with the task of finding you... a task which has proved most difficult." Tatsumaki gestured toward the tree and began to walk in its direction.

"No..." Naruto followed Tatsumaki, finding that now he could walk to the tree without resistance, "Tatsumaki isn't real. You were an identity I created."

Something very strange is going on.

"I... I believe you are mistaken Uzumaki Naruto." Tatsumaki sat on the swing, "I am the anbu assigned with the task of finding you..."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but then sensed a presence behind him. He turned and saw himself, with a metal face plate covering his whisker marks, wearing his beautiful samurai armor.

"You-but-I-" Naruto was more confused than he had ever been before in his life.

"Uzumaki Naruto? My name is Namikaze Jubei... I do believe we are related." Jubei walked forward and extended his hand, only to have Naruto bat it away.

"Impossible, the Namikaze clan was wiped out with the fourth Hokage, everyone knows that... right Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto looked back and forth from Jubei to Tatsumaki, his mind racing. Seeking desperately to solve the puzzle that seemed to grow every second he failed to solve it.

"Kurama!? What is this!?" Naruto didn't receive an answer, but as he repeated the question, Tatsumaki began to fade from Naruto's mind.

"What... what is happening to me? Uzumaki Naruto... I need yo-" Before Tatsumaki could finish, he had vanished completely.

* * *

Tatsumaki awoke in a hospital bed. Surrounding him on all sides were the former members of his temporary team, the fifth hokage, Hatake Kakashi, and a woman he didn't recognize.

"What..." Tatsumaki sat up in his bed, but found his body crippled with intense pain, "Why... why am I in pain?"

Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed him slowly back down on the bed.

"Shhh... you need to rest." She smiled at him, a warm and calming smile, and for some reason, Tatsumaki felt his heart fill with happiness. He nodded slowly, then a recent memory popped into his head.

"Sakura-san! I found him, I found Uzumaki Naruto." The people at the end of his bed stared at him in confused shock.

"Wh-what did you say?" The Hokage's chuckled through the question, hoping that Naruto was only joking.

"I found Uzumaki Naruto... he's still alive after all."

Sakura's eyes flashed from Tsunade to Tatsumaki, then back to Tsunade.

"What... what is he talking about!?"

Tsunade shushed Sakura, then leaned forward, her face inches from Tatsumaki's.

"Tatsumaki?"

"Yes hokage-sama?"

Everyone in the room groaned in disappointment. Tsunade cleared her throat, and stared Tatsumaki hard in the eyes.

"You... are Naruto Uzumaki."

Tatsumaki looked at Tsunade for several moments, then looked away, then looked back. He tried to laugh, but the smile quickly vanished from his face.

"What?"

Tsunade turned to look at Sakura, her face frozen with fear.

"Don't you remember? It was all a ploy... you were hiding from the Demon Court."

"The what? I was sent to find Naruto-"

"You are Naruto."

"No I'm not!"

Tatsumaki's voice was shaky with anger, he looked toward Sakura, she was beginning to cry.

"Tell her, tell her I'm not Naruto!" His tears began to flow with hers. He turned back to Tsunade who was shaking her head.

"Tatsumaki... what is your name?" The Hokage asked.

Tatsumaki stared at her, confused.

"Tatsumaki is a randomized code-name... what is your real name!"

Tatsumaki stared down at his hands and shook his head. After several moments, he spoke.

"I... I don't know!" Tatsumaki's voice was cracking with emotion, "I... I don't know who I am."

Tsunade reached over the bed to a table and pulled off a mirror.

"I do." Tsunade held the mirror up to Tatsumaki's face.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." Tatsumaki's anger flared, and a wave of chakra shattered the mirror, and broke all the windows in the room.

* * *

Tsunade and Sakura were currently staring at several charts and graphs littering the ground of the Hokage's office. They had been working for hours, trying to give Naruto a diagnosis. They had left the confused Namikaze in the care of his former teammates, and Ringo. Hopefully they would be able to keep him under check.

"I-I think I figured it out Sakura..." Sakura walked over to Tsunade, freshly cried tears wet on her cheeks, "Now... I believe that this all stems from the injuries that Naruto sustained from his battle with that masked man."

Tsunade handed Sakura a piece of paper, it had several detailed notes and diagrams scattered across the page.

"The wounds he received would kill an ordinary man... and they almost killed Naruto. The trauma was too much for anybody, or any normal person. But we both know that Naruto is far from normal."

Sakura swallowed, her sorrow was radiating like waves from her body.

"If I'm correct, when Naruto saw you... he began to fight against death. In order to stay alive, he needed to stop the pain." Sakura nodded and Tsunade continued, "Over the past few years, Naruto has established many identities to help him fulfill his goals. Tatsumaki and Jubei are the ones we know of. Now, in order to survive, Naruto needed to block out the pain... and in order to do this, he subconsciously split his mind into fragments."

Sakura gasped softly.

"While Naruto retreated into his mind-scape to heal his wounds, his other personalities took over. Hiding his pain deep in his mind, he was able to survive. Unfortunately, now his other personalities are keeping him alive while he remains submerged..."

Sakura nodded very slowly.

"...Sakura, he may stay this way for a long time... and if his wounds never fully heal, he mind may be split forever."

* * *

Tatsumaki sat alone on his plain hospital bed. He was desperately searching his mind for memories of his early life, but nothing was there. He hadn't looked in the mirror since Tsunade had shown him his face.

No, Uzumaki Naruto's face.

He dropped his head in his hands, pulling slowly at his face, hoping with every pull and tug Uzumaki's face would loosen and eventually fall off revealing a face he would recognize as his own.

But the more he thought about the harder it was to recall his face, in fact he couldn't even remember knowing what it looked like. As Tatsumaki fell deeper and deeper into his dark mood, he failed to notice Uchiha Sasuke enter the room.

"Naruto?"

Tatsumaki groaned.

"Please, god, please don't call me that."

Sasuke scoffed at his friend. He had always respected Naruto, but Tatsumaki made him sick.

"Shut up." Sasuke said, "Just snap out of this shit!"

The poor boy, he had no clue that Naruto's condition was the only thing keeping him alive.

Tatsumaki glared at the Uchiha

"You have no idea what it's like to have your life stolen from you!" The anbu choked out.

Sasuke shook his head.

"You still have your life, you are Naruto!"

Tatsumaki shook his head slowly, gritting his teeth he spoke.

"I could never be Naruto... he killed my father."

Sasuke stared at Tatsumaki in shock.

"He's nothing but a demon, the nine tailed fox!" Tatsumaki's words were filled with pure hatred, he was clearly not Naruto at all at the moment.

Sasuke could take it no longer, leaping at Tatsumaki, he drove the still healing warrior through the wall.

**MORE TO COME.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Tendril Reborn**

Naruto Uzumaki was standing before Namikaze Jubei, or at least the Jubei Naruto had pretended to be. They hadn't spoken to each other since Tatsumaki had disappeared, which had happened several minutes ago. During that time Naruto had been looking around desperately for Kurama, hoping the demon king had some answer to his current dilemma.

However Naruto was beginning to piece things together on his own. As a boy he had heard of Shinobi who would go on undercover missions, and end up with split personalities from pretending to be someone else for too long.

"Jubei?" The Namikaze turned to face Naruto, a smile on his face.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"We need to find the Kyubi."

Jubei stared at his 'cousin', confused. He had never heard of the Kyubi, but Naruto was his relative so he had no reason not to trust him.

"Well, alright."

Turning away from the tree swing, the two Namikaze's made their way to the center of Naruto's mind-scape.

* * *

Tatsumaki felt the hard concrete of the side-walk slam into his shoulders, the back of his head jolted on impact, and he bit through his tongue. Blood dripping out of his mouth, he rose to face his attacker.

"Uchiha Sasuke, stop."

"Don't do this to me Naruto, not again."

"I'm not Naruto!"

Sasuke roared in frustration and slammed his foot into Tatsumaki's chin, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby building. The Uchiha dashed toward him, throwing a punch toward the Anbu's head.

Tatsumaki barely dodged it, and had to move even quicker to dodge another punch. Sasuke was fighting quick and hard, but not potently. He was toying with Tatsumaki. Batting him around as you would a flashlight that stopped working. He was trying to get the batteries working again.

"Remember damn you!"

Tatsumaki jumped up as Sasuke hesitated, flipping and landing behind him. Tatsumaki sprinted away, leaving Sasuke enraged.

"GET BACK HERE NARUTO!"

* * *

**"ROAAARRRR!'"**

The kyubi's roar echoed throughout Naruto's mind, leading him and Jubei closer to the beast.

"He's here somewhere. We just need to-"

Naruto stopped, before them was a maze of human bones, sharpened to a razor point. A new noise grew louder and louder, and they followed it to it's source. In the center of the maze of bones, a slender man stood sharpening a human fore-arm. As they approached, he turned to greet them.

"Ah, Naruto... I believe we have a score to settle." The man stood up, and twirled his bone hook and sword in his hands, like a deadly windmill, "Oh, hello..."

Turning to face Jubei, the man spoke.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

The man's eyes danced behind his mask.

"My name... is Tendril."

* * *

Tatsumaki leapt from building to building, rushing away from the mad-man on his trail.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke slammed into Tatsumaki's back, they both spiraled into the ground, shattering the road beneath them.

"Naruto, why do you protect this village?" Sasuke's grip kept Tatsumaki pinned to the ground.

"My name is Tatsumaki!" Tatsumaki pulled up his fist and slammed it into Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke didn't flinch.

"Naruto! What is your dream?"

"My name is-"

"Naruto who do you fight for!"

"Tatu-"

"Who do you love!"

"Sa...ku-"

Naruto convulsed under Sasuke's grip, pain running up and down his body. Sasuke forced his squirming friend to the ground, and watched as Naruto's eyes began to glow.

"Damn." Sasuke muttered.

"Sasuke, what is going on?!" The Uchiha turned his head to see his pink haired teammate sprinting toward them.

"Sakura stay ba-"

Before he could finish the warning, an explosion of chakra threw them away from Naruto.

Sakura brushed her pants off, and stood up from the ground. Dust from the explosion was hanging in the air. She looked around and quickly spotted Sasuke, standing up several feet from where Naruto once was.

"Naruto!" She called.

She received no answer.

In the distance, Tatsumaki stood up. He stared off into the eye's of Haruno Sakura.

"I..."

Sakura looked back, and shouted to him.

"What!" He couldn't hear her at first, his ears were still ringing from the explosion. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called again,

"Behind you!"

Tatsumaki twirled around to come face to face with Tendril.

"Catch!" Tendril brought up his fore-arm sword, slashing Tatsumaki across the chest.

The Anbu stared at the man, confused.

"You aren't really Naruto right now are you, no, it'll take some real heavy, emotional trauma to knock your senses back!" Tendril pointed off in the direction of Sakura.

Tatsumaki did nothing.

"I think her death might be enough to bring the real you out of hiding." Tendril walked off in the direction of Sakura, twirling his viscous hook.

Tatsumaki extended his arm, grabbing Tendril and throwing him back. Tendril jumped to his feet, licking his lips and spinning his sword in his hand.

"You can do it Naruto!" The love of his life cheered. Naruto turned in the direction of Sakura, and nodded.

"Believe it."

Naruto began to pace in a circle around Tendril. He didn't know how he left his mind-scape, and he had no idea how he got to this part of the village. One thing was certain in his mind. This monster that stood before him needed to be stopped, and he was the only one who could do it.

All the while one thing troubled him. Naruto knew that he killed Tendril, he could still remember the man's last breath leaving him, and the kiss that Tendril had given him.

He shuddered.

"How?" Naruto brought his hand to where his sword should have been, but he had no weapon, he couldn't recall where the ninjato was, and the hospital garb he was wearing did nothing to jog his memory.

"Ah, you wish to know how I have returned from the 'dead'?" Tendril smiled at Naruto, a devilish smile, "Well it's a long story... but what the hell? After all, neither of us are going anywhere anytime soon."

"Now... where should I start... ah!" Tendril's voice was full of pride, "During our fight, I quickly realized how much potential you possessed! Wasted on the good deeds you do, but, potential nonetheless. Your chakra amazed me, never before had I seen such velocity and power. I could not go on living without it... at that moment, I realized you were my destiny."

Naruto was visibly disgusted by Tendril's statement.

"I needed to have you, or else I would never feel truly complete. Using in ancient forbidden technique, I infused my mind, all my memories, skills, knowledge, and emotions into a single ball of energy in my throat, ready for transfer at my will."

Sakura and Sasuke stood in the distance, hearing every word.

"You didn't think I kissed you because I liked you, did you? Don't get me wrong, you're very good looking, I'm just not interested in you that way." Tendril chuckled, "I transferred my very being into you. There I lay dormant while I regained my strength for our battle."

"Wait, you live inside me!? Like the Kyubi!?" Naruto gritted his teeth, holding back his emotions.

Tendril shook his head, laughing.

"No! My dear boy, I did not seal myself inside you, I molded a new you in my image!"

"What?! I-I don't understand!"

"Think about it!" Tendril cleared his throat, "You know you already have multiple personalities, I just added a new one to the mix!"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and revelation.

"You-You mean-"

"Exactly my boy!" Tendril removed his skull mask, revealing a perfect duplicate of Naruto's face, "I'm you!"

"No-that-no! How can I be in two places at once! You can't be me! I'm right here!"

"Naruto, I simply made a shadow clone in the image of my personality, so I could confront you in the real world... you can fight me all you want, but you will never win. If you defeat me, I'll vanish in a puff of smoke. If I win, then my personality will take over your mind in its weakened state."

"This is impossible!" Naruto couldn't fathom that he shared a mind with this cold-blooded psychopath.

"Now now, Naruto! We should know more than anyone, nothing is impossible!"

Charging at Naruto, Tendril swung his hook like a reaper, Naruto barely dodged the hook, only to have to parry a swing from Tendril's sword with his fore-arm, penetrating his skin and slicing into his bone.

Sakura was awe-struck, watching the horror unfold before her. There was no denying Tendril, whoever he once was, had now become a part of Naruto. She turned to Sasuke, and they nodded to each other.

Running into the fray, Sasuke formed a chidori in his left hand, and with his right grabbed Sakura by the hand.

"Naruto!" She called

Naruto and his doppelganger both turned toward Sakura. Seeing what she was planning, the Uzumaki grabbed Tendril by the the arms, forcing him to face the charging shinobi.

"NO!"

Sakura hurled Sasuke at Tendril, sending him flying into the two Narutos with lightning velocity. The blue waves of chakra crackled against the wind as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. As the Tendril Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Sasuke dropped his hand, leaving the real Naruto with only minor burns on his chest.

"Guys... I think I need to take a nap." Naruto smiled at his friends, then collapsed. Everything that had happened that day finally surmounted him, and he lay asleep from mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion.

* * *

Naruto was asleep, but he wasn't dreaming. He was in his mind-scape, lying down beneath the shade of the single tree. There was no sky above him, only an endless expanse of foggy whiteness. He felt an emptiness in the pit of his stomach, and he realized,

"Kurama is still missing."

He sat up with a start, and peered around his boundless mind, quickly spotting his three doubles. His fractured identities. Tendril smiled wide at him.

"Well look who has come to join the party!" Naruto's fist collided with the jaw of Tendril's bone mask.

"Shut up."

"We don't have time for this Naruto!" Tendril pulled off his mask, and wiped the blood from his lower lip. It was like looking into a mirror, only the mirror was dark, and twisted... and dressed differently. He spat blood and saliva and spoke, "The Demon King is missing. I think when I was hired, the court slipped an infiltrator onto me. He could've entered your body at any time during our altercation. If he's in here, we need to find him. I will not lose the power of the Kyubi."

Naruto, for the most part, agreed with Tendril. If a demon had somehow infiltrated his mind, they would need to remove him quickly, before Kurama could be freed.

"Once the Kyubi is freed, there's nothing stopping the infiltrator from destroying us, from the inside out." Jubei surmised.

"I can sense his chakra somewhere in your body," Tatsumaki began, "Faint, but still strong enough for me to pick up. I could lead the way."

"Do." Naruto said, grimly, allowing the Anbu to begin the search.

He led them quickly to an old iron door, slightly ajar. It had seemed to materialize from nothing. No one but the real Naruto was surprised by its existence.

"What is this? Where did it come from?" He asked them all, opening the door further. They just stood there, awkwardly, as if they were afraid to answer him. Even Tendril shied away.

"Guys? Have you looked in here? You all seem to know it's here, why haven't we looked in here?"

Still, silence.

"Somebody answer me. Now." His voice was surprisingly steady, and the others seemed forced to answer him.

"Dark things lurk in there." Jubei said, his demonic looking armor betraying his appearance of vulnerability.

Naruto chuckled. "That's it?"

"Dark things, really?" He continued to laugh. None of the others joined in.

"It's our mind, guys. I think we can handle it." He said, opening the door all the way. A sudden gust of wind sprang from within, and a howling screech accompanied it. Naruto's resolve was shaken.

Tendril cleared his throat, and stepped forward, as if the fear Naruto was stricken with only increased his strength.

"I'm scarier than anything will meet in there. Compared to me, Uzumaki, you have the mind of a teddy bear." He passed the boy and stepped forward, into the darkness that beckoned him, "A pink one."

Naruto ignored his quip and followed him into the blackness, leaving Tatsumaki and Jubei alone outside the door.

"Well, I'm going with them." Tatsumaki spoke, following the others. Alone and confused, Jubei shut the door behind them.

"Now what do I do?" He asked aloud, as suddenly the mind-scape began to dematerialize around him. His world turned white, then dissolved away. He found himself on a hospital bed in a small room, Haruno Sakura was sitting some feet away from him.

"Hello, Sakura-chan." He said, charmingly enough.

"Oh, you're awake... Naruto?" She stared at him, her face skewed by confusion. He leaned his face across the bed, closer to hers.

"...yes?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just I thought you might be one of your- well I haven't really had time to explain this yet, buy your-"

"My mind has been fragmented, yes I know. The real me figured it out while we were waiting."

"Waiting?" Sakura blinked, still confused, "The real you? Aren't you the real Naruto?"

"Waiting for Tatsumaki to return, looking for Kurama, finding Tendril, we were doing a lot of things in there-"

"In where?" Sakura's confusion was only rising.

Naruto pointed to his head.

"Oh."

"And I am the real me, but I know that, Ringo knows that, and you know that. No one else does. They all think I'm-"

"Namikaze Jubei."

"Right." He winked at her, then grinned devilishly. Only me and you, he thought to himself, and Ringo.

"Naruto, everyone knows your Jubei now."

"I don't."

"What? You aren't making any sense."

"I... I don't understand how to make myself any clearer."

Then, Sakura understood everything. Poor Jubei was tormented. Unlike Tatsumaki, who existed as Naruto's Anbu alter ego before the events of his exile, Jubei was created while Naruto was trying to hide himself. Because the Namikaze was created almost in the moment, without any development of back story by Naruto, he remained a shell when their mind was fractured. A disguise, programmed only to pretend he isn't who he really is.

She pitied him.

"How about I take you for some ramen?"

Jubei went from looking like a kicked puppy, to beaming like a child.

"I'd like that very much."

* * *

"Hmmm."

The dark filfth of the walls of the chasm dripped down onto the heads of our heroes as they made their way through the seemingly endless tunnel. They had been traveling for what seemed like hours, and they had yet to confront anything but unearthly noises and piles of unidentifiable remains. They strode onward, prepared for what doom awaited them at the end of their journey.

Feeling uneasy under the tense silence, Naruto began to hum to himself. The song was strangely familiar to him, yet he had no recollection of hearing it before. He didn't have to try to hum it, the rhythm came naturally to him.

"Naruto..." Naruto ignored Tendril, not wishing to speak to the psychopath, "Naruto!"

"WHAT!"

"Do you know what you are humming?"

"No... why?"

Tendril cleared his throat.

"When I was younger, several centuries ago, I lived amongst a nomadic tribe of assassins. They told tales around the fire at night, playing drums and flutes while weaving stories of terror and mystery."

Tatsumaki and Naruto stopped and turned toward Tendril.

"One tale I remember especially for the horror of it. It centered around a small village on the outskirts of the fire country. They were ordinary farmers, but the leader of the village had a dark secret. Years before he had made a deal with the demon court to guarantee a good harvest every season. At the beginning of each year they would sacrifice a virgin-like you Uzumaki- to the demon court, and the demons would use dark magic to protect the crops."

Naruto tried to argue against Tendril's insult, but he had nothing to protest except for the attitude of the statement. Tendril continued,

"One day the sacrifices used to appease the demons, stopped. They came to the village, and slaughtered all but one. This man they made their slave. He would be a symbol of their arrival to other villages, a flute player who signalled the coming of the Demon Court. Having no other souls to feed off of in that part of the world, they pressed on, sending their flute-player ahead of them, as a dark omen."

"Why would they give away their secrecy by announcing their arrival?" Tatsumaki asked, ever the tactician.

"No one could stop them, so it mattered little. I think they took some humor in the reactions mortals had to prophecy and premonition."

"Oh." The Anbu fell back into silence.

"The storyteller finished his tale by announcing that he was the messenger, and that by tomorrow we would all be worse than dead, our souls consumed by the Demon Court. We all assumed it was one of those theatrical scary endings to a scary story, but I still couldn't sleep a wink that night. Fortunately for me, my insomnia saved my life. Around midnight the beat of a drum echoed through the camp. I murdered the boy I shared a tent with, hoping his blood would draw the demons off my trail. I sprinted away, and just made it over a hill before I saw a band of demons enter our camp. I sprinted until my legs were on fire, and I sprinted even more. I passed out just as the sun was rising, but by then, I was long gone."

"That afternoon, when I was sure the demons would have finished their feast, I returned to the camp and found everyone slaughtered."

Naruto scoffed.

"Good story, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"That song was the song you were humming."

"So?" Naruto scoffed again.

"Our mind is fractured, I have all of my memories, and you have none. Why would you recall a song that only I have heard?"

Naruto's eyes widened in realization, and he unsheathed his sword.

"They're here Naruto, and they're playing their song in your head." Tendril pulled his hook and fore-arm sword from their holsters on his back, and Tatsumaki brandished his ninjato, "They're coming."

**MORE TO COME.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry guys, I realize I made a mistake a few chapters back and contradicted Kakashi's realizations. I fixed it now, so forgive me if I confused you.**

**Second to last chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Nine**

**Facing Demons**

Naruto looked down the dark tunnel, and bright lights made their way toward the three Naruto's. In an instant, thousands of small creatures were running toward them, fire erupting from their little bodies. They each had dozens of legs, and scurried toward the Uzumakis like spiders.

"Damn." Was all Naruto said. The demons attacked, crawling over their bodies and biting with teeth that burned as they penetrated the skin.

Every demon they sliced away, another seemed to take its place. The monsters would climb up their backs, and sink their fiery teeth into their necks, their shoulders, and every time a Naruto would throw the things off, he would be faced with a dozen more at his feet.

"This is- gah!" Tendril pulled a struggling demon out of the soft part of his thigh, "This is getting ridiculous!"

"I concur." Tatsumaki swung his ninjato into an attacking creature, then thrust it down at his feet were ten more were scurrying about.

Suddenly, Tendril disappeared, and Jubei took his place.

"AH! What the hell are these things!?" The samurai-garbed Namikaze sliced at the attackers with his katana, but they would not cease in their persistance.

Trouble was more than brewing in the mind of Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Tendril opened his eyes and found himself staring into green ones. His lips were pressed against something warm, soft, and comforting. He found himself feeling happy, pleasant, almost compassionate.

He threw Haruno Sakura off of him and retreated into a corner. He looked quickly around the room, and realized he was not in the hospital bed that Naruto's body had been last.

"Where are we?"

"Huh?" Sakura chuckled as realization hit her, "Oh, ok, I get it. Which one are you?"

"Naruto's in trouble, you need to tell me where we are!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Sakura cleared her throat, "We're in my bedroom- well, the master bedroom in the Namikaze estate."

"If we've changed locations, and the court still has a hold on us, that must mean the controller of the infiltrators is somewhere nearby." Tendril started rifling through Sakura's drawers, throwing her clothes about the room as he desperately searched for a weapon, "The controller must have followed us from the hospital. He could be in the room with us, or outside a window, but we need to find him and kill him."

He swore.

"Aren't their any weapons in this place!?" Suddenly, he felt a tickling in his hands. Looking down, he saw his bone weapons materialize into existence. Summoning, one of the advantages of having the body of a shinobi, "Very nice."

"You're, you're Tendril!" Sakura half-shrieked. Drawing a kunai from her thigh holster, she assumed a fighting stance.

"I'm not here to hurt you! I'm here to save us! Their are demons in our body right now! We need to kill the controller!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain later, but if you want Naruto to live past the hour, you'll help me find this guy!"

Sakura stared at him, unsure.

* * *

Tatsumaki swung around madly, his body completely covered in the spidery demons. He screamed, but his yells were muffled by the monsters that covered his face.

Naruto looked on in horror, then kicked a demon away from his feet.

* * *

Tendril growled as he and Sakura looked around the house.

"What's wrong?"

"The infiltrators are really giving us trouble. We need to find the controller, soon."

"Well, what would he look like?"

"I have no clue, but he would definitely seem out of place..." Tendril grabbed Sakura by the shoulders, startling her, "I know you haven't lived here long, but do you see anything new? Anything strange?"

She shook her head, no.

"Please, you have to try."

Sakura thought hard for a moment, then her eyes lit in realization.

"I-"

"No, don't tell me..."

Sakura moved her eyes up toward the ceiling, and Tendril turned around nonchalantly. Looking up, he saw a large painting of an Oni.

He swung his sword and stabbed it through the ceiling.

Sakura gasped as the painting seemed to spring to life, only to die moments later. The 2-dimensional Oni fell from the ceiling as Tendril withdrew his sword, and it floated slowly to the ground like a feather. When the papery demon hit the floor, it disintegrated with a resounding poof. It seemed to scream as it turned to dust.

"Phew, that was a close one." Tendril said chuckling, he turned to Sakura, "I seem to have worked up a sweat, would you care to accompany me in the shower?"

She stared at him in utter disbelief, and with a vaguely spiking interest.

* * *

The hordes of creatures disappeared as if they never had even existed. Of course they hadn't, it had all been in Naruto's head, so as the demons vanished, Tatsumaki stood up completely unscathed, despite the fact that moments ago he had been very near death.

"That was... fuck!" Naruto said, "I mean, what the fuck!"

"I agree... I would rather never do that again." Tatsumaki sheathed his sword.

"At least the three of us are together in that opinion."

"Alright... where's Tendril?" Naruto grew worried.

"I think he took my place in the real world."

"Oh, well what were you doing?"

"Um," Jubei blushed, "I was with Sakura."

"Oh, ok..." Naruto's expression quickly changed from acceptance to fear, "Oh shit!"

"Oh, holy fuck." Tatsumaki agreed.

"We need to get him out of there." Jubei said. Naruto leaped at him, wrapping his hands around the Namikaze's throat.

"No shit!" He tossed Jubei's head back and forth, "How the hell do we do that?!"

"Try focusing, Naruto. Maybe if you concentrate hard enough, you'll be able to switch places with Tendril." Tatsumaki stated, fairly calmly.

In the depths of Naruto's vast mind, he paced back and forth. Jubei sat down, rubbing his tender neck, and Tatsumaki drew his sword. He started to sharpen it.

"Shut up!"Naruto screamed at him, "I can't concentrate with that noise!"

"Easy, Naruto..." Jubei said, smiling, "Remember what Ringo taught you."

Naruto stared hard at him, his teeth clenched like his fists.

"Happy thoughts." Jubei reminded him. Naruto exhaled and sat down. He crossed his legs and focused his chakra, and drew to his mind a clear image of Sakura. He imagined her glittering green eyes, her ivory skin, and her cherry blossom-pink hair.

He felt himself slowly begin to drift out of his mind-scape. It was a weird feeling, something he found himself unable to describe. It was like waking from a dream, and trying to hold onto bits of reality as they came into view. If he focused to hard on one aspect of his waking, the others would slip away and he would have to redouble his concentration. He had to keep everything in view, everything on the threshold of his consciousness. It was difficult, but eventually he realized he had escaped, and Tendril had taken his place.

He also realized that his mental image of Sakura had been replaced with her real self, and he was running his hands along her naked back, spreading soap.

"Gah!" He screamed into the back of her head, flaying his arms in front of his face in part to shield his eyes, and also to cover his face from Sakura's fist which were sure to follow his revelation. Of course, the momentum of his arms caused him to slip and fall, landing hard on his bottom against the porcelain floor of the shower stall. He cried out in pain, but his arms still stayed in place, his eyes closed tightly so that no soap would get in. He closed his legs, trying to hide his genitals from Sakura's view. His ears were ringing, but over the ringing he could hear Sakura laughing.

"What's your problem?" She asked, chuckling.

"I'm sorry Sakura! I didn't see anything, I swear!" His wrists were cocked so that his hands jutted out away from his face, they were still covered in soap.

"Oh, back to normal I see." Sakura said, still laughing. She dropped slowly to her knees, so that she was face to face with the self-blinded Naruto. She grabbed him by the elbows, and slowly pulled his arms away from her face, he resisted, but her great strength overpowered him. His eyes were still squeezed shut.

"Hey." She said, no longer laughing.

"Yes?" He said, his cheeks raised with the squinting of his tightly closed eyes.

"You're a goofball." She leaned into him, and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Am not." He said, his voice muffled by the presence of her face pressed so closely to his. She broke the kiss to giggle, then pushed back into it. She reached for his soapy hands and interlocked her fingers with his.

"Are too." She opened and closed her mouth against his, begging him to open his as well. He complied, running his tongue along her teeth as his heart beat faster, and faster. She sighed into the kiss, and her sweet breath left its taste on his tongue. They continued to kiss for several minutes, then the doorbell rang, startling them both. Sakura accidentally bit his tongue.

"Ow!" He cried as she pulled away.

"Sorry!" She said, standing up and turning off the shower, "I have to get that, I'll be right back."

"Okay." He said, mumbling over his fingers, which were gingerly squeezing his wounded tongue. She rubbed his soapy hair affectionately with one hand, then left the shower.

Naruto sat there, listening to the last bit of water run down the drain.

Then she was back.

"Hey, it's Kakashi-sensei, we're needed at the Hokage tower. Tsunade-shisho called some sort of meeting."

Naruto nodded, and stood up slowly.

"I'm wearing a robe now, you can open your eyes, prude."

"It's not that... I think I got soap in them."

Kakashi heard girlish laughter from his place in the kitchen, and sighed.

"I remember when I could do that to women..." He reflected on his growing age until his former students were ready to go.

* * *

Ringo sat lazily in a chair, remembering the time in she had killed those men in the alleyway with Naruto and Kiba. She, being so intelligent, had quickly judged that the idiotic Kiba had assumed Naruto would help him take down the four guards, and the scatterbrained Naruto, clearly had no clue. Then, the blonde buffoon went and took credit for her handiwork.

Oh well, she thought, I've no reason to complain. I'm not here to impress anyone.

"Kiba?" She asked, nudging the boy when she realized he had fallen asleep.

"Huh? What?"

"... nothing." It wasn't that important anyway.

* * *

"Next time you decide to kidnap a patient Sakura, please be kind enough to tell me." Tsunade looked at the two troublemakers, who were seated in front of her desk. Kakashi was standing in the corner of the room, reading his book.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sakura smiled apologetically at her teacher.

"How's your head Naruto?"

"Fine. Shut up, you! No you shut up!" Naruto starting strangling himself with his right arm, and fighting against it with his left. He went on like this for a few minutes, his friends only stared at him. Finally, he slowed to a stop, "I was... joking. You know... split personalities and such."

Sakura offered a small laugh, but Naruto realized how pathetically his joke had failed, and slumped into his seat.

"I need to explain something." He said through his glumness.

"What?"

"Me and Sakura are joined."

"Ew." The Hokage said.

"No, I mean like, spiritually." Naruto said.

"Huh?"

"When I took her back to the village, when I used the hirashin, our molecules kinda got mixed. There's a little of me in her, and a little of her in me."

Sakura was blushing madly.

"How do you know all this?" Kakashi asked.

"Well we can feel it, and my father wrote extensively about it. I read some stuff at Ringo's library."

"Ringo's what?"

"Her father, the real Namikaze Jubei, was like, the historian for our clan. He had all the books and scrolls when he left the village. I left them with the toads for now, when all this is cleared up, we can get everything moved back in."

"Alright, that sounds fine." Tsunade cleared her throat, "Now... since everything seems to be in order, and it doesn't look like your mind will fully heal anytime soon, I think we can begin preparations to take down the Demon Court."

"No." Naruto said bluntly.

"Excuse me?"

"There's no we in this, Baa-chan. Just me." Naruto stated grimly. He had played along for awhile, but he couldn't fool his friends any longer. He would face the Demon Court, alone. He couldn't risk their lives for a problem that was entirely his own.

"No." Tsunade said, her voice shaking, "We're going with you! We assembled a strike force-we planned-"

"I'm sorry. I can't allow anyone to be hurt for my sake." Naruto stood up quickly, and spun around. He marched stoicly toward the door.

"Naruto."

"I'm sorry, Sakura... I can't lose you again, I won't hurt you again."

In a burst of speed that rivaled the Namikaze's, Sakura threw herself in Naruto's path. A furious slap hit his face.

"Don't you ever say that!"

"What?" Naruto rubbed his swelling jaw.

"You've never hurt me!"

"Sakura, all those times with the fox, when I was Tatsumaki, even when I left you, that was all me hurting you!" Naruto whispered: "Can't you see that?"

"I see the same stupid boy I've always known." Sakura stood firm, but her voice was shaking, "The same stupid boy who thinks that is his absolute job to keep me safe."

"Sakura, I won't let anything hurt you, it is my job to protect you."

"Yes, but it's my job to protect you!" Sakura was beginning to tear up, "It isn't the way it used to be, Naruto. You don't just love me, we love each other."

Naruto's throat felt swollen, and he found it hard to swallow.

"You made me promise never to die, to live forever. Well, Naruto, if you were to die, it would kill me."

Naruto's fists clenched, and he hiccuped.

"That's why I'm going with you, Naruto. I agree with you, no one else should have to risk their lives, but the thing is, me and you share the same life. From now and forever Naruto, we are one."

Naruto laughed, but it was a sad chuckle at Sakura's corniness.

"Besides, if you do evade me, and go off to fight your demons all alone... then I'll find you, and I don't care who you're fighting, right there, I'll kill you a million times over."

They smiled at each other for a moment, then threw themselves into the firmest of hugs.

"Well... I'm perfectly fine with not fighting any demons," Kakashi began, "But, I think you should allow our strike force to remain at most, a few miles from Demon Mountain... just in case."

"That's fine." Naruto nodded into Sakura's shoulder, "Just don't get in the way."

Tsunade laughed, and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? I believe we have a mission to undertake!"

* * *

Naruto sat in his room in the Namikaze estate, meditating on his bed. Before him, lying on the covers, was a small bag filled with a few things he had collected over his journey. The remains of Tatsumaki, the scrolls from the Namikaze Ninjato, and other odds and ends were all inside. Further away from him on the bed, he had placed Tendril's weapons, and his wakizashi. On a stand at the foot of the bed, was his trusty Samurai armor.

He opened his eyes, breaking his meditation.

Reaching into the bag, he pulled out Tatsumaki's mask and facial wrappings and the forbidden scrolls. He put on the wrappings and the mask, and taped the scrolls around his arms and legs. He stood up off the bed, and walked over to the armor, admiring it before putting it on.

He adjusted his horned helmet over his anbu mask and pushed his wakiazashi through his belt. Finally, he strapped Tendril's malevolent weapons to his back and left the room.

In the master room of the compound, a small army of Anbu soldiers waited, all of them unmasked. Naruto stared out at his friends, and they nodded at him. Silently saying potential goodbyes.

He took the time to nod to every single on of his friends, then lead the way out of the estate. They followed him through the main gates, where Sakura was waiting with Ringo and Kakashi. Gamabunta stood before them, waiting to serve as an entry way into Demon Mountain.

Naruto gestured forward, and all of his friends climbed aboard the boss toad, only he and Sakura stayed below.

"Are you ready?" She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He formed the hand signs, and three clones appeared beside him.

Tendril, Tatsumaki and Jubei swung their weapons, and the three clones leaped onto the giant toad.

Ino walked out from inside the estate, fresh out of the hospital.

"Good luck you guys." She said, hugging Sakura, "I mean it."

"Take care of this place while we're gone." Sakura said, "And don't let the doorbell startle you!"

Naruto nodded at Ino, and grabbed Sakura's hand. Together, they jumped onto Gamabunta's back.

"Huh." Ino said smiling, and waved goodbye as the giant toad carried her friends away, and into battle.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**A Broken Mind Made Whole by a Woman**

Uzumaki Naruto stared into the eyes of his reflection in a dirty mirror. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. He felt as if his peripheral was clouded, as if he had a tunnel vision and could only see the mirror in front of him.

"Naruto." The reflection spoke to him in the cold calculating voice of Tendril.

"What is it?"

"Where are you right now?"

"I don't know." Naruto said, calmly. He was too calm, it was as if he couldn't be anything more than calm. Just calm. Calm.

"Naruto, you need to focus." Tendril's voice spoke again through Naruto's mirrored image.

"I am focused."

"Then tell me where you are."

"I'm..." Naruto closed his eyes, when he opened them he was face to face with a squirming demon. Naruto's fist was inside the monster's chest. The beast screamed in an otherworldly fashion, and Naruto quickly pulled his hands out of the demon's smashed rib cage. The monstrosity crumpled slowly to the ground, and Naruto took in his surroundings.

He was in a large cavern, where blood dripped down from stalactites and up from stalagmites. Dead bodies littered the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. The air smelled of rotten flesh, and very faintly, of cherry blossom. Naruto was at a loss, he had no idea where he was.

He started walking, hoping to solve the mystery, only to find himself unable to move. Looking down, he realized he was weighted to the ground by Haruno Sakura, who was wrapped around his leg.

"Sakura?" He asked softly.

She mumbled a quiet response.

"What are you doing?" He asked, bending down to get a better look at her. Her eyes were closed.

"I'm sleeping. Leave me alone." She whined.

"Why are you sleeping?"

Sakura's eyes darted open, and she looked carefully from side to side.

"I... don't know."

Naruto offered her a hand and pulled her carefully to her feet.

"Naruto?" She asked gently.

"No, Tendril." He answered calmly.

"Oh?"

"I think so, I'm really not quite sure." He said, "Who do I look like?"

"Well, Naruto. Except your hair is paler and your eyes are grayer. You're wearing odd clothes. Also, you're frowning."

"Yeah, I'm Tendril then."

"Why aren't you sure?" She asked, rubbing her fingers through his off-colored hair.

"Because I'm feeling really strong positive emotions for you right now." He stuttered out._  
_

"Huh?"

"I... I feel love for you right now."

"Well of course you do! You're Naruto!" She said, laughing.

"But, I'm supposed to have the emotions and memories of Tendril. I'm supposed to be a sociopathic sadist, fond of torture and sexual mutilation and utterly opposed to romantic notions like love and friendship."

Sakura pressed her lips softly against Tendril's cheek, slowly planting small kisses across his face as he worked her way toward his mouth.

Tendril let out a sexually repressed moan, and Sakura giggled.

"You're like a teenaged boy." She said, "You may think you're some psychopathic rapist/murderer, but you're just Naruto. The real Tendril was capable of those terrible things, you never will be."

She kissed him once more, long and passionately on the lips, before releasing him.

"Now, let's find out where we are." Sakura said, taking Naruto by the hand and leading him away from the gore and death.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tendril-Naruto asked kindly, "Before waking up wrapped around my thigh."

Sakura touched her chin with her free hand.

"Um, I remember saying goodbye to Ino, and then getting on top of Gamabunta."

"Nothing after that?" Tendril-Naruto asked, worried.

"No... nothing." She said, frowning.

"I, uh, the Tendril part of me remembers meeting with the Demon Court, dealing with their emissaries and leaders, but I-well, he never actually went to Demon Mountain."

"So, what are you suggesting?"

"What if our directions, our map to Demon Mountain, was just a ruse... and the real place is like a spiritual place. Like where Kurama is inside my mind, uh spirit, soul? I dunno."

They kept walking in silence, as Sakura thought about what Tendril was proposing.

"You mean that the Demon Court exists on another plane, and can be accessed at any place? Like a dream, or Heaven?"

"Or Hell." Tendril-Naruto said coldly, "I think my mind, or my spirit, has been kidnapped. Because of our bond, it brought you with me."

"Well why didn't they kidnap you before? It would've made stealing the Kyubi from you a lot easier."

"I don't know. Maybe Konoha is protected from spiritual attacks somehow, and they had to wait for us to leave the village first."

"Well what about when you weren't in the village? Before all this, I mean."

"Maybe... maybe the infiltrator, maybe he put a seal inside me that allowed them to kidnap me, but it still wouldn't work unless I left the village."

"I guess that makes sense." Sakura offered kindly, "I'm sure we'll figure it all out later."

"Later...right." Tendril almost whispered.

They continued through the large cavern, following the twisting and winding rock into a large dark tunnel. For some reason, even though there was no light source visible, they could clearly see what was in front of them. The tunnel led them further and further toward an unknown destination, until finally they reached a large, glowing, green portal.

"What the hell is this?" Sakura asked.

"I dunno... but I guess we should go through it." Tendril walked forward without hesitation, and the portal seemed to suck him in.

"Wait! Hey! Come back here! Naruto, we don't know what's in there!" Sakura stood there, her frustration at her teammates recklessness radiating from her in waves. Then, Naruto poked his head back out of the portal.

"Hurry up." He said, before ducking back inside.

Sakura sighed, and followed him.

* * *

Tatsumaki looked at his surroundings and the pink haired woman beside him. He didn't know where he was, but he knew who he was with.

"Hello, Haruno-san."

"Oh, great. You."

"How are you?"

"Why'd you change?" She asked, annoyed.

"I don't choose these things, Haruno-san." Tatsumaki offered kindly.

"Well if you're going to act like that, can you at least take the mask off?" Sakura gestured toward the Anbu's face, "Both of them?"

"W-why?" Tatsumaki was more than hesitant, he was frightened by the possibility of being without his mask.

"We both know who you really are under there, c'mon. Take it off."

"I-"

"Please?" Sakura asked, knowing full well she wouldn't be refused any longer. Tatsumaki sighed quietly, then pulled off his anbu mask and his face wrappings. He was the spitting image of the real Naruto, only with shorter hair.

"See? Was that so hard?" Sakura asked, smiling.

Tatsumaki tied the mask to his belt with the wrappings, and they walked on.

"I just... I don't like being..." He began.

"You don't like being Naruto?" Sakura assumed. Tatsumaki nodded sadly, and his blue eyes misted over, "Listen, Tatsumaki... I understand how you feel."

"You do?" Tatsumaki asked, hopefully.

"Yeah... I spent most of my life not liking being me." Sakura admitted somewhat sadly.

"What do you mean?" Tatsumaki looked at Sakura, worry on his face. He put a hand on her shoulder and she gestured toward a spot against the tunnel's wall, they both sat down. He gently placed his hand on her knee, and she placed hers on top of his.

"I used to not think to highly of myself-"

"But Haruno- I mean, Sakura, you're one of the finest kuniochi in the village, and you're well on your way to surpassing the Hokage in the medical field."

"Yes," Sakura smiled sadly, "But this was before all that."

"... go on."

"Well, you know all this, but I'm sure the Tatsumaki part of you is blocking it out. The truth is that I used to be one of the weakest ninja in the village."

"No!" Tatsumaki exclaimed without the slightest hint of sarcasm, "That can't be true, for a weak ninja to become as great as you is inconceivable."

"I was never very strong, or particularly good at anything other than paper tests and team building exercises. But my lack of strength is no excuse, because you- well Naruto was even less skilled than me, and he was always the strongest of us all." Sakura said, the sad smile still fixed on her face.

"So?" Tatsumaki said, "You're strong now, aren't you?"

"I'm not done... it wasn't just my strength as a ninja that disappointed me... it was the way I looked."

"What?" Tatsumaki asked, genuinely confused. Sakura pointed to her forehead.

"I was utterly convinced that a billboard resided on the upper half of my face." She chuckled, albeit sadly, "It didn't help that my closest friend mocked me about it too. I was so young, I couldn't rely on my body to attract boys, my face was all I had. And here I was practically scaring them off with my giant forehead."

"Well, what changed? When did you start liking being you?"

"It's gonna sound silly." Sakura closed her eyes, "But it was something Sasuke said to me when we were kids."

"Oh?" Tatsumaki asked, visibly annoyed.

"Hey, don't be like that." Sakura said, "He's a good friend. I don't feel that way toward him any more."

"I'm sorry." He wasn't used to having to hide his emotions, wearing a mask meant he could practically stick his tongue out at something he didn't agree with, "Please continue."

"Well, I was sitting on this bench and... well Sasuke was behind this tree or something, he comes out and he tells me that-"

"'Your forehead is so beautiful, it makes me want to kiss it.'?"

"How... how did you know that?" Sakura asked, taking her hand off of Tatsumaki's and hovering it in front of her mouth, "I've never told anyone that."

"I get the most peculiar sensation of telling you that myself." Tatsumaki closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and squinting hard, "Is that not strange?"

"No... wait, please, tell me more."

"I remember... telling you that, in front of a bench. I remember almost kissing you, and then I remember feeling like my intestines were liquifying in my stomach and running away."

Sakura stared at him with eyes wide, mouth agape.

"That's- well Sasuke did that. All that. Well, I don't know about the intestines thing, but he ran away while trying to kiss me." Sakura leaned into Tatsumaki's face, staring at him hard, "Why do you remember all this?"

"I also remember kidnapping Sasuke and disguising myself as him... I guess these are all Naruto's memories."

"Than that means-" Sakura bit down lightly on her lower lip, "Hmmm."

"It means I'm the one on the bench. Well Naruto I mean-"

"You. You are Naruto." Sakura shook her shoulders slightly, throwing off old burdens of best forgotten memories, "I think I figured you out."

"What do you mean?"

"Tendril, he's the part of Naruto who wants to be a monster. The one who wants to completely give into the life of a warrior, the power of the fox. You, you're the part of Naruto that's ashamed." Sakura placed her hand back on Tatsumaki's knee, "You're ashamed that you're a demon container, you're ashamed that you are such a knuckle-head, you're ashamed you masqueraded as Sasuke to earn a kiss with me... Naruto,"

"Yes?" Tatsumaki answered.

"You should've just told me that stuff as yourself, it wasn't who said the words that changed me, it was the words themselves."

"I'm sorry I lied to you Sakura."

"That's okay. I'm glad we cleared this up." Sakura stood up slowly, "I'm glad it was you who told me those things, I just wish I had known sooner, I might have fallen in love with you quicker."

Tatsumaki stood up a little quickly and startled Sakura with his closeness to her face. They stood there for a minute, Sakura softly laughing as Tatsumaki smiled and blushed awkwardly.

"I'm glad you took the mask off," Sakura put her right hand on Tatsumaki's opposing cheek, "It'll make this a lot better for both of us."

He leaned into her before she could instigate and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

* * *

"Sakura, look up there."

Another portal formed up ahead as Sakura and Tatsumaki walked on, arms linked.

"Yeah, we came in through one of those when you showed up." Sakura said, walking ever closer to the portal with no hesitation.

"Well, what happens when we go through it?"

"Nothing, we just go through it-" Sakura's words were cut off as she entered the portal first, Tatsumaki followed quickly. On the other side Sakura pulled him through, only to be faced with Naruto in his stunning samurai armor in place of Tatsumaki.

"Another switch up?" Sakura asked.

"Don't tell anyone." Jubei winked at her in his charmingly ignorant way.

"Oh boy." Sakura sighed, "Why do you change every time we pass through one of those green things?"

"You got me..." Jubei looked around, "Where are we?"

"Not quite sure, but earlier we were thinking this might be Demon Mountain."

"Well that was quick, I must've fallen asleep on the ride here." Jubei half-joked.

"No, Tendril you thinks that Demon Mountain is on another plane of reality. Like where the fox is inside of you, or heaven. That sort of thing."

"That would make sense... I could ask Kurama when I go back in if you'd like."

"I'm sure the other yous are already asking him." Sakura stopped, "But would he even know?"

"I don't know... but I'm sure he'd at least be able to help us identify this place as being real or not." Jubei inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly, "We keep moving then?"

"Yeah, let's." Sakura threw him a lopsided smirk, and they continued on. After about a half hour, Jubei spoke.

"This is kind of boring."

"I know, it didn't take that long to find the other portals."

"Well, maybe there aren't any more... maybe this tunnel takes us where we need to go," Jubei began, "To an exit or a..."

"Here's something." Sakura walked briskly forward underneath a large iron archway. The arch was decorated elaborately with demonic looking heads and protruding hands, the image produced was unsettling at best. As Sakura passed through it, the arch began to bleed.

"Wait, I'm not sure if-" Sakura slipped downward as Jubei spoke, as if a trapdoor had opened below her and swallowed her up. The silence was permeating, "Sakura?"

Jubei ran forward quickly and leapt through the arch, but Sakura was nowhere to be found.

"Sakura?!" He spun around, then began to jump up and down, hoping he would fall wherever Sakura had fallen to, "Sakura?!"

He yelled again, and again, and again, but he received no answer. Then, the sound of a large rolling stone filled his ears, and a door opened across from the archway. Peering inside, Jubei saw a large cavern, fully lit by glowing red torches. At the end of the cavern, a giant statue of the Kyubi no Kitsune stood, golden, and with fountains of blood pouring out of its gaping mouth.

Realizing the moment had come, Jubei unsheathed his katana and stepped through the doorway.

Uzumaki Naruto entered the room. He wore the armor of Namikaze Jubei, the mask of Tatsumaki was strapped proudly to his belt. In one hand he held the Namikaze Ninjato, and in the other Tendril's bony blade. In the place of his Kabuto, he wore the headband of a Konoha shinobi.

He was surrounded on both sides by scores of demons, and as he walked down the path toward the statue of Kurama, he couldn't help but feel his heart beating harder and harder in his chest. But strangely, or not strangely, it wasn't fear that caused his heart to pound with such fury, it was rage. Blood lust.

Pure unadulterated, prejudiced, termination of his enemies beckoned him. He marched on. He raised the katana and bone-sword high above his head, and with flourishing destruction he swung down on the statue, breaking it in half and causing the blood to spew out and coat him entirely.

The demons in the room hissed, cried, and stamped their feet with unparalleled anger.

Naruto heard things that were surely from the bowels of hell itself, but he did not shiver at the pure terror of the foul language. He stood his ground, and scoffed at hell. He was hell. The Devil incarnate.

"I aim to kill you all. Every last one of you. Your wretchedness ends now." He said in the voice of five distinct and pure spirits.

"Give us the Kyubi." An unnamed voice spoke.

"Or?" Naruto asked, chuckling.

"Or we kill the girl." Sogetsu broke away from the crowd of demons, Sakura held firmly in his sickly birdlike hands.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the demon, and watched as Sakura elbowed him in the face, shattering ancient jaw-bone. Sogetsu howled in pain and released his grip, allowing Sakura to hustle over to Naruto.

"You yourself again?" She asked, drawing a kunai from her thigh pouch.

"Everyone of me." He said, smiling. Smiling with his eyebrows pointed and his chin angled down. Sakura could see the boy had but one thing on his mind. Evisceration. Spiritual and physical disembowelment. Death, in every possible way.

"Are you ready to finish this?" Sakura ask, holding her kunai at the ready.

"Oohh, yes."

Sogetsu, with his shattered jaw and busted lips charged at the two, screaming wildly in tongues.

Sakura killed him with an explosive shuriken to the throat. The ninety some other demons descended on the two heroes, and the real battle began.

At first, everything was going fine. Naruto was hacking demons to bits with his dual blades, screaming and laughing like at mad man every time demon's blood sprayed his armor. Sakura was doing just as well, but without the maniacal glee.

Things took a wrong turn when Naruto had to save Sakura from a sneak attack, leaving Naruto himself open to an attack from another demon.

The wound was fatal, but it was sure enough to slow Naruto down, and he had to drop Tendril's blade to make up the pace. With only his ninjato, Naruto's killing range was cut in half, and it was far easier for demons to get close to him. As for Sakura, the guilt that she had got Naruto hurt was clouding her mind, and she found herself making stupid rookie mistakes.

The battle raged on, and gradually the two found themselves in the centre of a circle of some thirty-two demons, the only remaining monsters. Sakura slipped to her knees and Naruto bent down to catch her, suddenly, the demon court had the high ground.

They didn't attack immediately, but stood there. Blades ready, waiting for the moment that the heroes stood up, and they would all but hack them to pieces.

"I love you Naruto." Sakura said, holding him tightly.

"I love you too..." Naruto kissed her forehead and held her right back. Slowly, the demons began to close the circle. Naruto started laughing softly.

"What? What is it?" Sakura whispered.

"Wait for it..." Naruto whispered back.

The Demons got closer and closer, until finally, they charged. Sakura and Naruto disappeared in a yellow explosion. In their wake, the Namikaze Ninjato stood, a large scroll unraveled, floating in the breeze around the hilt. Suddenly, the scroll exploded, all but evaporating the last members of the demon court.

One member remained, limping slowly in a circle. His eyes were gone, his right arm was blown off, he was shouting curses and damnations on the Uzumaki line. Naruto walked toward him slowly, picking up Tendril's sword as he did so.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, the last of the Namikazes... and you have failed." Naruto pulled his sword up over his head, and the crippled demon raced toward him, "Now, back to hell with you."

Naruto swung, slicing the monster and half. Killing it, once and for all rendering the Demon Court extinct.

The man known as Uzumaki turned toward his one true love and embraced her. They had done it. They had destroyed everything that threatened their loved ones and their lives. They were still together, and they always would be.

* * *

Naruto awoke, staring at Kiba and Ringo who were staring down at him.

"Fell asleep now, did you?" Kiba asked.

"You could say that." Naruto answered. Looking down, he saw that Sakura was lying against him, still asleep. She was smiling, and as he looked back at Ringo and Kiba, he felt her slowly wake up.

"We're here." Kakashi called from Gamabunta's head, "But you guys might want to see this."

Naruto helped Sakura to her feet, and the entire Demon Court Destruction Force made their way to the front of the toad. There, where their supposed destination should have been, was a large crater. 97 or so dead, dismembered, charred and bloody corpses littered the ground.

"I think someone beat us to it." Kakashi said, looking back suspiciously at Naruto and Sakura, who looked forward, smiling.

"Let's go home." Naruto said, smiling. Knowing that the Demon Court was finally gone, forever. He pulled Sakura into a hug, and in a golden flash they returned to Konoha.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, shoving her true love playfully, "We can't leave them."

"We'll go back... I just wanted to show you the sunset in Konoha, one last time, before we begin the rest of our life together." Naruto sat down, and gestured for Sakura to do so next to him.

She realized where they were, sitting on top of the Hokage Monument. Looking out, she saw the beautiful sunset slowly begin its descent behind the mountains.

It colored the sky. Glorious pinks, oranges, and yellows.

**I honestly hope you thoroughly enjoyed the story.**


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